Example of hydropower

Hydropower

More than 99% of the electricity used at our Quebec City refinery comes from renewable sources – mainly hydropower, with small portions from wind, biomass, solar and thermal.

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Wind Farm at Dusk

Wind Power

Adjacent to our McKee refinery in the Texas Panhandle, our wind farm includes 33 wind turbines with 50 megawatts of power generation capacity.

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Valero Wilmington Refinery Cogeneration Unit

Cogeneration Plants and Expanders

  • Cogeneration Plants: Fueled by natural gas, our cogeneration plants reduce our dependency on local power grids, which are often costlier. Cogeneration is a highly efficient and reliable way of producing electricity and thermal energy or steam with the steam used in the refining process. Valero has cogeneration systems at refineries in Wilmington, Benicia, Port Arthur and Pembroke. 
     
  • Expanders: At six of our refineries, we have installed “expanders” on processing units that generate power from exhaust gases. In all, our expanders are designed with the capacity to annually displace more than 600,000 tons of carbon dioxide that otherwise would be generated by conventional power plants.
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Cogeneration Plants and Expanders

Cogeneration Systems Infographic 2020
Photo of a Valero Refinery in California

Heat Transfer

Our refineries utilize heat integration technology to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy-related operating expenses. Heat exchangers enable the transfer of thermal energy from high temperature process streams to lower temperature streams, decreasing natural gas or refinery fuel gas needs for heating and lowering utilities requirements for cooling.

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EPA Efficient Producer Program for Ethanol

Superior Process Efficiency With Ethanol

Our ethanol plants have implemented refining operational best practices in safety, reliability and environmental responsibility.

Six of our ethanol plants, with three more pending, are recognized under this program for superior process efficiency, including:

  • Reduced on-site energy consumption,
  • Increased fuel output; or
  • Use of biomass or biogas to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

 

What Fuels Us We care about the environment, our employees and the communities where we work and live.

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Responsibility

Waste Management

Valero manages the wastewater from its plants to protect local waterways and benefit the environment.
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Responsibility

Recycling Process

For Valero, being the most efficient and reliable operator in the highly competitive industry means being the most environmentally responsible.
Grand opening event of a renovated park
Responsibility

Connecting with Our Neighbors

Valero strives to be a good neighbor and looks for opportunities to work directly with local officials and fence-line residents to improve the quality of life in its communities.