British Petroleum makes first move in PV since 2012 with acquisition of 43% stake in British renewables firm Lightsource.British Petroleum (BP) has today confirmed that it has returned to the solar industry after a five-year hiatus with a $200 million investment in British renewables developer Lightsource.
The move marks the petroleum giant's first activity in PV since it closed its subsidiary BP Solar in February 2012 after many months of financial difficulty. Operating under the new entity of Lightsource BP, the multinational will seek to develop and manage major solar projects globally, and stressed in a press statement that it will not be returning to the manufacture of solar panels.
The deal sees BP gain a 43% equity share in Lightsource via a $200 million investment paid over three years, with an initial $50 million payment due on completion of the agreement, likely in early 2018. Most of the monies will be steered toward funding Lightsource's global solar pipeline.
Jenny Chase of Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) told pv magazine that from BP's perspective, a $200 million investment is a relatively cheap way to keep their global strategy well informed about the solar market. "Sometimes I think these big firms just make investments because they are curious and cannot see many other investment options," Chase said.
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