Climate Changed
BP Re-Enters Solar Power Market With $200 Million U.K. Deal
- Oil major buys stake in U.K. photovoltaic firm Lightsource
- Move is less adventurous than investments by Shell and Total
Photographer: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Bloomberg
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After a six year absence, BP Plc returned to the solar-energy business with a $200 million investment in a British company that develops and maintains photovoltaic farms in Europe.
The move marks another step by the largest oil companies into renewable-energy technologies starting to disrupt the energy industry. BP’s rivals such as Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Total SA have made bigger ventures into offshore wind and solar-panel production in the past few years, reflecting a shift by governments to encourage cleaner forms of energy.