BP Solar

BP Solar was a manufacturer and installer of photovoltaic solar cells headquartered in Madrid, Spain, with production facilities in India and the People's Republic of China.[1][2] It was a subsidiary of BP.

BP Solar
Subsidiary
IndustrySolar energy
FateShut down
Founded1981 (1981)
FounderPhilip Wolfe
Defunct21 December 2011 (2011-12-21)
Headquarters
Madrid
,
Spain
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Reyad Fezzani (CEO)
ParentBP
SubsidiariesTata BP Solar
Websitewww.bpsolar.com

History

In 1981, BP acquired initially 50% of Lucas Energy Systems which became Lucas BP Solar Systems.[3] The company became wholly owned by BP in the mid-1980s.[4] In 1999, following BP's acquisition of Solarex's majority owner Amoco, it increased its stake in the American Solarex plant to 100%.[5] In that year the company became the world's leading PV producer.[6]

In 2004, the R&D part of BP Solar was sold to the UK's National Renewable Energy Centre (Narec). In 2013, it became Solar Capture Technologies.[7] In 2010, it closed down the factory at Frederick, Maryland.[8] BP Solar was closed on 21 December 2011 when BP announced its departure from the solar energy business.[9]

BP Solar and Indian firm Tata Power established Tata BP Solar, a joint venture company, in 1989.[10] The company began commercial operations in 1991 by establishing its first manufacturing unit with a production capacity of 3 MW in India.[11][10] BP Solar exited the joint venture in 2012, and the Tata BP Solar became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Tata Group.[10]

PV power plants

There are several PV power plants of megawatt capacity which use BP solar modules. These include:

  • Bürstadt, Germany — 5 MW from 30,000 modules
  • Springerville, Arizona, USA — 4.59 MW from 34,980 modules
  • Geiseltalsee, Germany — 4 MW from 25,000 modules
  • Long Island, New York, USA — 32 MW from 164,312 modules

Projects in developing countries

BP Solar had many projects and co-operative activities in developing countries, including supplying power to 36,000 homes in rural Indonesia, installing 1000 solar devices to provide power to 400 remote villages in the Philippines, and setting up a rural electrification scheme in Malaysia to provide power to 30,000 remote homes in Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia. In the mid 1980s BP installed Solar power for Microwave repeater stations across Sierra Leone in support of a Telecommunications (Phone) network restoration.

New battery technology

BP Solar (with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation — CSIRO) was also involved in the commercialization of a long life deep cycle lead acid battery, which is well suited to the storage of electricity for renewable remote area power systems (RAPS). This GreenGel battery, and CSIRO's new battery charging procedures, will reduce capacity loss and premature failure sometimes encountered with existing battery technology. A significant component of the project will be the establishment of an innovative manufacturing process to enable the production of these advanced batteries at an internationally competitive price, facilitating a major export market.[12]

See also

References
  1. "Solar Power Profitability: BP Solar". Archived from the original on 2009-03-28. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  2. Hoovers
  3. "BP and Lucas form solar company". Electronics and Power. March 1981. doi:10.1049/ep.1981.0091.
  4. "The Long Island Solar Farm" (PDF). US Dept. of Energy. 2013.
  5. "Company news; BP Amoco plans to buy remaining 50% stake in Solarex". Dow Jones. 7 April 1999. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  6. Wolfe, Philip (2018). The Solar Generation. Wiley - IEEE. p. 207. ISBN 9781119425588.
  7. "Solar Capture Technologies launched". Archived from the original on 2015-01-30. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
  8. Mulliken, Bruce. "Solarex fades away". Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  9. Bergin, Tom; Young, Sarah (21 December 2011). "BP turns out lights at solar business". Reuters. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  10. "HISTORY & MILESTONES". Tata Power Solar. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  11. "Tata Power Solar Is First Indian Company To Ship 1 Gigawatt Of Solar Modules". CleanTechnica. March 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  12. Renewable Energy Commercialisation Programme Archived 2007-02-20 at the Wayback Machine
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