Solar & Onshore wind energy

As part of our plan to become an integrated energy company, bp combines our trading, mobility and customer expertise with our 50:50 joint venture Lightsource bp’s world-class solar project development experience to deliver renewable power to our customers

bp solar 

In 2021, bp acquired nine gigawatts of solar development projects and is working with Lightsource bp to exclusively develop the projects, spreading across 12 US states, with its largest portfolios in Texas and the Midwest.

Construction of Arche Solar, bp solar’s first farm, located in Fulton County, OH, began in October 2022. The 107 MW project will produce locally generated, solar-powered electricity into the Ohio bulk power transmission system, furthering Ohio’s energy security and reducing carbon emissions. It is expected to reach commercial operation in early 2024 and will create about 200 construction jobs.

Lightsource bp

Through our 50-50 joint venture with Lightsource bp, we are advancing solar energy projects across the United States.

Lightsource bp currently has sixteen US solar projects operating in eight states — Alabama, California, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Texas; with thirteen more projects under construction in six states – Louisiana, Arkansas, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. Collectively, these projects could generate around 2.2 gigawatts (GW) of renewable electricity – enough to power more than 380,000 homes each year.

In Pennsylvania, a Lightsource bp project now meets 25% of Penn State University’s statewide electricity needs for its more than 100,000 students with 150,000 solar panels installed across three sites. Meanwhile, in Texas, Lightsource bp’s Impact Solar farm generates 450,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of solar power annually which is enough to power the equivalent of 41,000 Texas homes per year. At the Impact Solar farm, Lightsource bp is managing vegetation to support pollinator populations, establishing shelters for a variety of wildlife groups, protecting 50 acres of woodland habitat near the site and caring for more than 1,500 sheep that “mow the lawn” naturally.

In April 2021, Lightsource bp signed new power purchase agreements with Amazon, McDonald’s and eBay. The solar projects, located in Ohio and Louisiana, will provide a total of 720 megawatts (MW) and help these companies meet their sustainability goals and advance their commitment to climate action.

Growing our onshore business

Our growing US wind energy business is key to our strategy. This business provides clean power, while developing and deploying new technologies to deliver that energy more efficiently.

We currently operate nine onshore wind assets across six states —Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Pennsylvania and South Dakota. We own interest in a tenth wind asset in Hawaii. Together, our US wind farms generate enough renewable electricity to power nearly half a million homes a year.

bp Wind Energy’s largest onshore footprint is in Indiana, where we operate the Fowler Ridge 1, 2 and 3 wind farms. Spanning over 42,000 acres, these farms have 355 wind turbines which can produce roughly 600 MW per year– enough power to support about 122,000 Indiana homes.

bp Wind Energy’s headquarters is located in Houston along with a Remote Operations Center that centrally monitors all bp-operated wind farms 24 hours a day, seven days a week with colleagues in the field to enhance performance, reliability and safety.

Finally, the bp Wind Energy team continues to increase their partnership with ONYX Insights –an industry leading predictive analytics provider and a wholly owned subsidiary of bp.

By leveraging this technology, we can better understand the life span of turbine components at our wind farms, improve maintenance schedules, reduce costs and avoid breakdowns.