HighPeak to Partially Power Permian Operations with Renewable Energy

HighPeak Energy Inc. formed a partnership to electrify and power drilling and operations in the Permian Basin partially with renewable solar powered energy.

The partnership represents a milestone for HighPeak, which formed through a business combination last August, and how the company will approach sustainability over the next decade, according to HighPeak CEO Jack Hightower.

“In less than a year since the consummation of our business combination, we’ve proven our commitment to our ESG goals by dramatically reducing our operational truck traffic, flaring and overall carbon footprint,” commented Hightower in a company release.

“And we’re not stopping there,” he continued. “We have more efforts underway in 2021 and beyond.”

The partnership is with Priority Power Management LLC, an independent energy services provider focused on energy infrastructure, energy transition program management, market intelligence operations and energy structuring. Based in Arlington, Texas, the company serves over 6,700 clients, totaling $2.7 billion in energy spend and 94 TWh of electricity managed across 31 states, including one-third of Texas’ top 100 independent oil and gas producers and leading midstream and long-haul pipeline companies, according to the company release.

As part of its agreement with HighPeak, Priority Power will develop an electric high-voltage substation, medium voltage distribution systems and a 13-megawatt direct current solar photovoltaic facility located on 80 acres of HighPeak’s owned surfaceland north of Big Spring, Texas in Howard County to provide HighPeak’s electrical power needs for its drilling activity and operations in its Flat Top area.

Over the life of the contract, approximately 263 million kilowatt-hours of clean and reliable solar energy will be delivered to HighPeak, resulting in an estimated reduction of over 100,000 metric tons of CO₂ emissions according to the Environmental Protection Agency, the company release said.

“Priority Power’s ability to develop, operate and maintain the substation, distribution and solar generation facility enables HighPeak to focus its resources on its core business processes of developing its oil and gas assets,” said John Bick, chief commercial officer of Priority Power, in the release. “The impact to the environment and the increasingly favorable economics are the real rewards that await E&P companies like HighPeak who incorporate integrated electrification and solar power into their energy strategies.”

Priority Power will develop, finance, engineer, construct, operate, and maintain the project facility for HighPeak. The company will also integrate and manage HighPeak’s existing and future electricity supply agreements with the solar powered energy generated from the solar generation facility.