Canadian Solar will supply 1.2 GW of its modules to Lightsource BP; a U.K.-based solar developer 50% owned by oil and gas multinational BP. The financial details of the transaction have not been made public.
The modules will be supplied under a “multi-year” arrangement and will consist of Canadian Solar’s half-cell, multi-crystalline technology in bifacial and single-sided formats. Canadian Solar announced the modules will be deployed in Australia and the United States.
Lightsource BP recently signed a $100 million, 1.5 GW deal with American company Array Technologies to deploy the latter’s trackers in the U.S. At the time, Lightsource BP Americas CEO Kevin Smith said the developer planned to construct more than 4 GW of new solar generation capacity in the U.S. by 2023.
Big plans
In Australia meanwhile, Lightsource has secured funding for a 200 MW project in New South Wales which is expected to be one of the largest bifacial installations to date. Announcing the project in October Adam Pegg, country manager for Australia at Lightsource, said the company plans to develop 10 GW of solar Down Under over the next five years.
The deal represents a win for Canadian Solar’s multi-crystalline technology as the bulk of solar demand has shifted toward monocrystalline products in recent years and analysts expect multi-crystalline products to account for less than 20% of the module market this year.
Lightsource BP saw major expansion last year, with big acquisitions and project wins in Spain, Brazil and other markets to bring its project pipeline to around 12 GW. In December, BP increased its stake in the company from 43% to 50%.
pv magazine has approached Lightsource BP for more details about the Canadian Solar deal, without reply. The developer’s fossil fuel major stakeholder had a busy day with U.K. newspaper The Guardian reporting BP’s London headquarters was this morning picketed by Greenpeace protesters who used solar panels and oil barrels to block entrances to mark new CEO Bernard Looney’s first day in post.
