BP Joint Venture to Invest in New Zealand Solar Power
April 20 2022 - 11:35PM
Dow Jones News
By Stephen Wright
A joint venture half owned by British oil giant BP PLC said it
will invest in solar power in New Zealand in partnership with one
of the South Pacific country's largest utilities.
The agreement between the BP joint venture, known as Lightsource
bp, and Contact Energy Ltd. adds to a growing pipeline of solar
power investments in New Zealand.
Solar was less than 1.0% of New Zealand's electricity generation
in 2021, but could grow severalfold in coming years. Other
renewable electricity sources such as hydro, wind and geothermal
were 82% of New Zealand's power supply last year--a lower
proportion than average due to a drought that led to higher coal
use.
Contact and Lightsource said Thursday they will work together on
multiple solar generation projects in New Zealand that would
provide 380 gigawatt hours of electricity annually by 2026--about
1.0% of current national electricity generation or enough to power
50,000 homes.
A joint venture between Contact and Lightsource would construct
the solar farms and Contact would be able to purchase their
electricity through long-term agreements, they said in a
statement.
Write to Stephen Wright at stephen.wright@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 20, 2022 23:20 ET (03:20 GMT)
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