UK-based Lightsource BP is a global leader in utilty-scale solar PV development and recently became a 50:50 joint venture with oil and gas giant BP. Evidently, the funds paid by BP to increase its stake is already being put to good use with the inking of a 1.2 GW multi-year module supply deal with solar giant Canadian Solar.
The deal will see Canadian Solar supply bifacial high power BiHiKu (CS3W-PB-AG) and high power HIKU (CS3W-P) modules to Lightsource BP’s projects in Australia and the U.S.
Image: Canadian Solar
“We are pleased to be working with Canadian Solar to deliver our global pipeline,” said Kareen Boutonnat, Chief Operating Officer at Lightsource BP. “They are a bankable and industry-proven partner for our projects. Our centralized procurement team selected these modules for their high-efficiency performance and we look forward to seeing the satisfactory results in the field very soon.”
Perhaps the first of Lightsource BP’s utility-scale solar projects to yield such “satisfactory results in the field” will be the currently under construction 174 MW Wellington Solar Farm in Wuuluman, outside Dubbo, New South Wales (NSW). The Wellington Solar Farm is the British company’s first utility-scale project in Australia.
The solar project promises to be one of the first utility-scale solar farms in Australia to use bifacial solar panels. The vast majority of the project’s output upon completion is contracted to Snowy Hydro through a 15-year power purchase agreement. The offtake deal was locked in as part of a massively oversubscribed 888 MW renewable energy tender invited by the government-owned retailer last year.
Lightsource BP has ambitions of becoming a leader in the Australian solar market as it looks to advance a number of projects around the country. “We’re proud to be pushing the low-carbon transition forward in this country, and to be contributing to the company’s wider goal of achieving 10 GW of solar in the next five years, said Adam Pegg, Country Manager for Australia at Lightsource BP.
The module supply agreement with Canadian Solar is certainly a large step toward Lightsource BP’s ambitious goals. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar noted his excitement at the partnership with Lightsource BP. “As a solar technology leader, we are working continuously on innovation,” Qu said. “I am proud to see that our high-power modules, based on the latest bifacial technology, have been selected for these projects in Australia and the U.S.”
The article was amended on 6/2/2020 to reflect that Canadian Solar will be shipping both monofacial and bifacial modules to the Lightsource BP projects.
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