US refining company Flint Hills Resources announced on Thursday plans to construct a 27-MW solar installation at its Corpus Christi West refinery in Texas. The project, estimated to cost USD 53 million (EUR 49 million), will supply approximately 28% of the refinery's power needs.
Jeff Ramsey, President and CEO of Flint Hills Resources, highlighted the significance of the project, stating, “We are proving that large-scale solar can be successfully integrated into large, complex industrial facilities, helping to lower costs while maintaining reliability and improving our environmental performance.”
The solar project will be developed by DEPCOM Power, an Arizona-based engineering, procurement, and construction contractor. Both Flint Hills Resources and DEPCOM Power are subsidiaries of Koch Companies LLC.
This project marks Flint Hills Resources' second large-scale solar facility integrated into a refinery in the US. DEPCOM Power recently completed a 45-MW solar installation at Flint Hills Resources' Pine Bend refinery in Rosemount, Minnesota.
John Schroeder, Executive Vice President of Distributed Energy at DEPCOM, commented, “Distributed solar generation is proving to be a competitive and reliable source of power for many energy-intensive industries.”
