Lightsource BP, rebranded from Lightsource Renewable Energy in 2018, is the largest solar developer in Europe, and third largest in the world outside of China. Lightsource BP is a British company with headquarters in London, and offices in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, Bath,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. The company is a subsidiary of BP.

History

The company was founded in 2010 as Lightsource Renewable Energy. In 2011, the company's first solar park was established in

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its ...

. It consists of more than 5,000 panels that can generate enough electricity to supply 430 homes in the area. In 2013, Lightsource completed a 5 MW rooftop solar PV installation at

Bentley Motors Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North ...

' factory in

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...

. In 2016, the company launched Europe's largest floating solar project at the

Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir The Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir lies to the south of the River Thames and to the west of the Island Barn Reservoir. To the north are the Bessborough and Knight reservoirs. The A3050 runs to the north of the reservoir and it is situated in Walt ...

, in

Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide ran ...

. In 2016, Lightsource completed the Crookedstone Solar Farm, in Antrim, Northern Ireland, which provides a third of the

Belfast International Airport Belfast International Airport is an airport northwest of Belfast in Northern Ireland, is the main airport for the city of Belfast. Until 1983, it was known as ''Aldergrove Airport'', after the nearby village of Aldergrove. In 2018, over 6.2 ...

's electricity needs. In 2017, BP acquired a 43% stake in the company by investing $200 million. The company was accordingly renamed Lightsource BP. At the same year, the company established teams in North America, the Netherlands and India. In 2018, the company completed its first international installation, a 60 MW solar farm in

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

, India. Lightsource BP won the offtake contract through a 450 MW tender process. The project comprises 200,000

LONGi Solar LONGi Green Energy Technology Co. Ltd. ( zh, 隆基绿能科技股份有限公司) or LONGi Group (), formerly Xi'an Longi Silicon Materials Corporation, is a major Chinese manufacturers of photovoltaic solar modules and a developer of solar power ...

photovoltaic panels ground-mounted across . In that year, Lightsource BP also signed a 25-year power purchase and asset acquisition agreement with Mid-Kansas Electric Company in

Stanton County, Kansas Stanton County (standard abbreviation: ST) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the county population was 2,084. Its county seat is Johnson City, Kansas, Johns ...

, United States. In 2018, Lightsource BP formed EverSource Capital, a partnership with Everstone Group to create a major fund management platform for green energy infrastructure in India. The launch fund for EverSource Capital was the Green Growth Equity Fund, which has a fundraising target of £500 million and joint anchor investments from the UK Government and the India's National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, with a commitment of £120 million each. Also in 2018, the company formed a joint venture Lightsource BP Powered by Hassan Allam Utilities in Egypt with HA Utilities, the utilities subsidiary of Hassan Allam Holding. In 2019, BP increased its stake in Lightsource BP to 50%. In 2022 Lightsource BP raised $A540 million to develop two new zero emission projects in the Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria. The company is 50% owned by Bp Alternative Energy Investments Limited, which in turn is owned by BP International Ltd.

Operations

As of 2018, Lightsource BP has commissioned 1,300 MW of solar capacity and manages about 2,000 MW of solar capacity. It plans to increase the capacity up to 8,000 MW through projects in the Americas, India, Europe and the Middle East. Alongside funding, developing, constructing and connecting solar installations across the globe, Lightsource BP provides operations and maintenance, and asset management services to solar assets owners in the UK and beyond.

References

External links

* {{BP Solar energy companies Companies based in the City of London Renewable resource companies established in 2010 2010 establishments in England British companies established in 2010 BP subsidiaries