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By Susanna Twidale and Ron Bousso
LONDON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - BP is increasing its stake
in solar energy developer Lightsource BP to 50% from 43% and is
aiming for rapid growth over the next few years, the two
companies said on Thursday.
European oil companies like BP have been stepping up
investment in renewable power to diversify their businesses in
the face of global moves towards a lower carbon economy to
combat climate change.
Dev Sanyal, chief executive at BP’s Alternative Energy
division said, renewables were attractive even though they
usually offered lower returns than the company's traditional oil
and gas business.
"You don't actually have the volatility of the oil and gas
commodity cycle, what you've got is a stable returns structure,"
he said in an interview.
Lightsource BP usually seeks corporate power purchase
agreements for its renewable assets, which can provide years of
visibility and stability of revenue.
BP's investment will also simplify the joint venture
structure as Lightsource BP seeks to accelerate its drive
towards 10 gigawatts (GW) of developed assets by the end of
2023, the companies said.
Lightsource BP currently has around 2 GW of renewable
capacity globally.
BP invested $200 million in Lightsource when it took a 43%
stake in 2017.
No financial details relating to the stake increase on
Thursday were disclosed.
(Reporting by Susanna Twidale and Ron Bousso; Editing by Jan
Harvey and Jane Merriman)
