- The 187-megawatt dc Peacock Solar project will help power a
Gulf Coast Growth Ventures petrochemical complex
- The project is expected to come online in the second half of
2024
- At full capacity, Peacock's
renewable power could avoid more than 256,000 metric tons of
greenhouse gas emissions each year – equivalent to around 55,000
fuel-burning cars*
- Peacock is expected to create
up to 300 jobs during construction and provide more than
$25 million in tax revenue over the
first 25 years of the project's life
HOUSTON, Sept. 26,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- bp (NYSE: BP) has started
construction on its 187MWdc Peacock Solar project, located 10 miles
north of Corpus Christi in
San Patricio County, Texas,
helping support the global transition to lower carbon energy.
Peacock will sell all of the
electricity it generates under a long-term power purchase agreement
to Gulf Coast Growth Ventures (GCGV), a joint venture between
ExxonMobil and SABIC, which produces materials used to manufacture
clothes, food containers, packaging, agricultural film and
construction materials.
Located near the GCGV complex, Peacock will supply power directly to the
facility. Once complete, the installation will generate enough
renewable energy annually to power the equivalent of 34,000
homes.
The project is expected to create around 300 jobs during
construction and provide more than $25
million in tax revenue over the first 25 years of the
project's life.
"Securing this agreement and kicking off construction of
Peacock helps support the
transition to lower carbon energy, while benefiting local
communities and the economy," said Dave
Lawler, bp America chairman and president. "It's another way
bp is accelerating growth of our US solar generation capacity,
investing in America, and advancing our transformation to an
integrated energy company."
"We want to be good stewards of our environment," said
Paul Fritsch, president at GCGV.
"Once online, the solar-generated electricity will be used to
partially power our plant and help reduce emissions in support of a
net-zero future."
bp's 50:50 joint-venture partner, global solar leader
Lightsource bp, is developing the project and managing the
construction on behalf of bp.
PCL Construction, the main engineering, procurement and
construction contractor for the project, will install ultra-low
carbon solar panels and trackers from US-based manufacturers First
Solar and GameChange Solar, respectively.
Peacock will also be home to a
range of agricultural and biodiversity activities, including:
- Planting vegetation under and around the solar panels,
including native plant species beneficial to pollinators and other
wildlife.
- Aiming to improve habitat value, species composition, soil
health and overall ecosystem functions at the solar farm.
- Sheep grazing at the site to benefit the local rural economy
and keep the farmland in production – such practices are known as
agrivoltaics.
Solar plays an important role in bp's renewables & power
transition growth engine. Peacock
is part of bp's aim to invest in and build renewable energy
capacity of 50 gigawatts (GW) by 2030. bp anticipates that the
project will meet its expected returns for renewable power.
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association,
Texas ranks second in the nation
for solar power and is poised to grow, with more than 40GW of
capacity expected to be installed over the next five years.
Renewable energy projects like Peacock help diversify the state's
energy-generation mix, improving the grid's energy security and
reliability.
*Based on EPA 2020 ADVERT US national weighted average CO₂
marginal emission rate
About bp
bp's ambition is to become a net zero company by 2050 or sooner,
and to help the world get to net zero. bp is heavily investing in
low carbon energy businesses in the US and globally including
bioenergy, e-mobility, hydrogen and renewables. bp has a larger
presence in the United States than
anywhere else in the world, investing more than $145 billion in the economy since 2005 and
supporting about 275,000 jobs. For more information on bp in the
US, visit www.bp.com/us.
Further information
bp press office, US, uspress@bp.com
Cautionary statement
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(the 'PSLRA'), bp is providing the following cautionary statement.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements –
that is, statements related to future, not past events and
circumstances – which may relate to one or more of the financial
condition, results of operations and businesses of bp and certain
of the plans and objectives of bp with respect to these items.
These statements are generally, but not always, identified by the
use of words such as 'will', 'expects', 'is expected to', 'aims'',
'should', 'may', 'objective', 'is likely to', 'intends',
'believes', 'anticipates', 'plans', 'we see' or similar
expressions. Actual results may differ from those expressed in
such statements, depending on a variety of factors including the
risk factors set forth in our most recent Annual Report and Form
20-F under "Risk factors" and in any of our more recent public
reports.
Our most recent Annual Report and Form 20-F and other period
filings are available on our website at www.bp.com, or can be
obtained from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330 or on its website
at www.sec.gov.
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SOURCE bp America