By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent
It’s as if Apple started using a Microsoft operating system.
Exxon, one of the world’s largest oil-and-gas corporations, put out a request-for-proposal for contracts on at least 100 MW of solar and wind power, and possibly up to 250 MW for the right contracts.
The contracts would be for between 12 and 20 years long, according to Bloomberg reporters who have seen the confidential RFP. It’s also unclear whether the power is intended to fuel the company’s Irving, Texas, headquarters or whether Exxon would re-sell the power to other offtakers.
It’s not unusual to see oil companies dabble in renewable energy. After all, as Bloomberg points out, Shell and BP have already (re)entered the solar markets and are actively exploring entering wind. But Exxon, the legacy company of John D. Rockefeller’s oil conglomerate, has long held to the precept that it should stick with what it knows.
There is no indication of what has changed the company’s mind, but if Exxon joins the renewable revolution, its importance can’t be overestimated. As Kyle Harrison, a New York-based analyst at Bloomberg NEF, said:
I have never seen an oil and gas company doing a corporate PPA anywhere near that size. If you’re seeing the biggest oil and gas companies going out and making investments in clean energy, it shows that renewables are cost-competitive. This can be a way for them to show a commitment to sustainability without suffering economically.
It would indeed be something of a game-changer, particularly in Texas (where the RFP is for). Texas is one of the largest wind-producing states in the country, and even solar is becoming cost-competitive with coal in the Lone Star State. What a revolution it would be to see this once and future oil capital of the world slowly but surely move on toward a renewable future. You’d expect that kind of future in states like California and Arizona (and even Massachusetts). But in Texas? A move to renewables – especially by a company like Exxon – would really change the conversation around renewable energy, in the best way possible.