No Fossil Fuel Fool!: Third-Generation Oil Prospector Goes Solar at Work and Home

Dewey Bartlett, Jr. is a third generation oil man. The 62-year-old Oklahoman has been in the oil and gas exploration business all his life.

But when it comes to the polarizing energy debate, he’s breaking new ground. This oil prospector is going solar.

Why would a seasoned fossil fuel expert consider renewables? “Going solar was our way of demonstrating that domestically-produced alternative energy is important and practical,” he said. “We owe our livelihood to oil and gas, but these are finite resources. The need for domestic alternatives, particularly in today’s volatile international climate, is clear.”   America currently uses 25% of the world’s oil supply, but this country holds only 3% of the world’s oil reserves. Global demand for oil is escalating, as is the volatility of many of the foreign sources from which Americans obtain their oil.

Dewey contends there is no silver bullet solution to this dilemma. He says the reliable, relatively affordable domestic resources required to sate America’s voracious energy appetite come in a variety of flavors.

With that in mind, the oilman introduced 19 solar photovoltaic panels to the rooftop of the 9,000 square-foot Tulsa office building he shares with attorney Ron Barnes this past April. The straight-talkin’ businessman says the solar system has shaved hundreds of dollars (about 30%) from his company’s monthly energy bill, and, in a unique arrangement with the local power company, the solar installation has made him the first commercial customer in Tulsa to actually tie into the power grid on a two-way basis. This allows him to send any surplus power back to the power company – and get paid for it in the form of credits to his monthly utility bill.

Dewey’s office building will be open to visitors during the National Solar Tour, the largest grassroots solar event in the history of the U.S. Produced by the American Solar Energy Society, the event features opportunities to tour solar homes and businesses in thousands of communities across the U.S. Tours are slated throughout the month of October and can be found at ases.org/tour.

“When all is said and done, we’re in the energy business,” he said. “If anyone understands the preciousness of energy as it relates to Americans’ quality of life, it’s those of us trying to find it.”

“Being able to control one’s energy destiny by having access to domestic resources, whether they’re renewables, alternative technologies or fossil fuels is just sensible,” Dewey said. “At the end of the day, if this country doesn’t act responsibly to create access to reasonably priced energy, we’re in bad trouble.”

Bartlett anticipates that his firm, Keener Oil & Gas Company, will realize federal tax benefits totaling a whopping $17,000 of the $40,000 solar improvement he made to his building, allowing him to recoup 100% of his business investment over the course of the next five or six years.

With a keener understanding of ROSI (return on solar investment), Dewey is lassoing the sun’s energy at work and at home.  He’s just bought a house with his new wife, Victoria, and the two plan on introducing solar thermal systems to heat their pool and household water, which account for 30 to 40 percent of a typical household’s monthly energy bill.

And he’s all for the business and homeowner’s tax incentives currently available to stimulate solar markets. Today’s tax credits for renewable power generation are set to expire at the end of this year unless Congress can agree upon a new energy policy. “I’m hoping our legislators can come to some middle ground so these incentives are renewed,” said Dewey. “It’s a smart thing to do. And so much more productive than mandates,” he added. The U.S. House of Representatives could begin hearing arguments on the new energy bill as early as this week.

Oil, however, runs deep in the roots of the Bartlett family tree. His grandfather got into the business at the turn of the last century – circa 1900 – and moved the company from Pennsylvania to the oil-rich plains of Oklahoma in 1910. His father, Dewey Follett Bartlett, was a geologist who perpetuated the family legacy while serving as the second Republican governor in the history of the state of Oklahoma. From there, he went to Washington, D.C. to serve the state as a U.S. senator. His background in geology, his experience in the realm of fossil fuels and his collaborative approach in the senate earned him status as a trusted energy subject matter expert during the country’s first Middle Eastern oil crisis.  That was over a quarter of a century ago: back in 1973, when OPEC was formed and Americans were dealing with their fist oil embargo.

“As a senator, my father served on the Energy Committee,” recalls Bartlett. “He and a Democratic Senator from Georgia, Sam Nunn, were great friends – and moderate in their views. Given the connection energy had with the Middle East, the men also served on the Foreign Relations Committee. They were true statesmen, able to disagree in an agreeable way and find ways to do what’s best for the common good.  We were fortunate to have their expertise and their approach to middle ground politics during that critical time,” Bartlett observed.

“Back then, my father understood the dangers of relying on foreign oil in such historically volatile regions,” he recalled. “He knew it was in our strategic best interest to look at more domestic sources, certainly at independent oil and gas. That’s what got me thinking about domestic alternatives,” he continued. “Even then, my father knew that if we didn’t do something to strengthen our independent industry, we would be fighting wars.”

Dewey’s business, Keener Oil and Gas Company, is a  self-described mom-and-pop organization. The company develops drilling prospects to find oil that is sold to refineries to produce myriad products, from gasoline and diesel fuel to asphalt, plastics, and fertilizer. If he finds gas, it’s sold to a pipeline that provides natural gas for heating. “We’re not all Exxon,” he noted. “I’d liken my operation more to that of a family farm. I have eight employees. No jet, no Cadillac with steer horns,” he laughs.

Dewey’s middle ground mantra is that we need renewables today, yet we cannot just flip a switch and sustain our current quality of life without an integrated approach, particularly given the wide array of applications for petroleum and America’s behemoth consumption habits.

“When all is said and done, we’re in the energy business,” he said. “If anyone understands the preciousness of energy as it relates to Americans’ quality of life, it’s those of us trying to find it.”

“Being able to control one’s energy destiny by having access to domestic resources, whether they’re renewables, alternative technologies or fossil fuels is just sensible,”  Dewey said. “At the end of the day, if this country doesn’t act responsibly to create access to reasonably priced energy, we’re in bad trouble.”

Acting responsibly to create access to renewable and reasonably priced energy. Now that’s a prospect worth pursuing.