Oil and gas supplier BP agreed on Friday to invest $200m in UK-based solar power project developer and operator Lightsource over a three-year period as part of a strategic partnership.
BP’s investments will eventually give it a 43% stake in Lightsource, which will be renamed Lightsource BP, and two seats on its board of directors as part of the deal. The first $50m will be provided once the deal is closed.
Founded in 2010, Lightsource develops and operates utility-scale solar projects. It has brought 290 solar photovoltaic projects online adding up to 1.3 GW of capacity in the UK, and manages about 2 GW of energy through operations and maintenance agreements.
The company claims it can access lower procurement costs because of the larger scale at which it operates, and aims to have built a platform of at least 2 GW of plants in each of the UK, Australia, Ireland, Netherlands, North America, and India, the Middle East and Asia by 2022.
The BP capital will support development of Lightsource’s 6 GW project pipeline, and its solar portfolio will complement BP’s own wind and bioenergy holdings. Lightsource has raised significant amounts of debt financing but had not revealed any earlier equity funding.
BP chief executive Bob Dudley said: “BP has been committed to advancing lower-carbon energy for over 20 years and we’re excited to be coming back to solar, but in a new and very different way.
“While our history in the solar industry was centred on manufacturing panels, Lightsource BP will instead grow value through developing and managing major solar projects around the world.
“I am confident that the combination of Lightsource’s expertise and experience with BP’s relationships and resources will propel this innovative business to even more rapid growth.”