BP’s joint solar venture Lightsource BP, founded by Co Antrim man Nick Boyle, plans to more than double its global expansion by 2025 after clinching a financing deal worth $1.8bn (£1.3bn) to develop enough solar farms to power the equivalent of 8.4 million homes.
The stellar-growth operation had initially set a target to develop arrays of panels with a total capacity of 10 gigawatts by 2023, enough for almost 3.4 million homes.
But the additional cash fund will be used to fast-track that ambition to 25GW by 2025, and the growth is likely to create more than 500 additional jobs within Lightsource in that time.
Lightsource also plans to build an extra 9GW of solar farms exclusively for the oil corporation as part of BP’s plan to grow its renewable energy capacity 20 fold by the end of the decade.
Group chief executive Nick Boyle said: “Globally, renewable energy is shifting from a mindset of gigawatts to terawatts.
“Investments are being made by the billion, not the million. And big companies like Amazon, McDonald’s and eBay are switching to clean energy. This trend proves that renewables are mainstream and solar is playing a key role in addressing the climate crisis.
“If we’re going to meet the commitments of the Paris Agreement, business as usual isn’t going to cut it. Our industry-leading 25GW by 2025 target and the finance package are further proof that Lightsource has left business as usual far behind.”
