BP Solar

BP Solar

Industry	Solar Energy
Founded	1981
Defunct	December 21, 2011
Headquarters	Madrid, Spain
Parent	BP
Website	www.bpsolar.com

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.

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. In 1999 it increased its stake in the American Solarex plant to 100%. 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.^[4] In 2010, it closed down the factory at Frederick, Maryland.^[5] BP Solar was closed on 21 December 2011 when BP announced its departure from the solar energy business.^[6]

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.^[7]

See also

• Green technology
• List of photovoltaics companies
• Photovoltaic array
• Photovoltaics
• Photovoltaic power stations
• Renewable energy
• Solar power
• Solar shingle
• Solar tracker
• Timeline of solar energy

References

1. Solar Power Profitability: BP Solar
2. Hoovers
3. "BP and Lucas form solar company". Electronics and Power. March 1981. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
4. "Solar Capture Technologies launched". Retrieved 2013-05-07.
5. Mulliken, Bruce. "Solarex fades away". Retrieved 15 March 2013.
6. Bergin, Tom; Young, Sarah (21 December 2011). "BP turns out lights at solar business". Reuters. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
7. Renewable Energy Commercialisation Programme

External links

• BP Alternative Energy site (original BP Solar site defunct; redirect)
• BP Solar to expand its solar cell plants
• Australia's largest city solar project contract awarded
• BP Plans to Invest $1.5 Billion in Alternative Energy
• Solar Capture Technologies, the company formed from BP Solar UK