BP plc has begun construction on its 187 megawatt conditional (MWdc) Peacock Solar project, located 10 miles north of Corpus Christi in San Patricio County, Texas.
Peacock will sell all the electricity it generates under a long-term power purchase agreement to Gulf Coast Growth Ventures (GCGV), a joint venture between ExxonMobil Corp and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), which produces materials used to manufacture clothes and food. containers, packaging, agricultural films and construction materials, BP said in a press release on Tuesday.
Located near the GCGV complex, Peacock will supply power directly to the facility. Once completed, the facility will annually generate enough renewable energy to power the equivalent of 34,000 homes, according to BP.
BP’s 50/50 joint venture partner, global solar energy leader Lightsource BP, is developing the project and managing construction on behalf of the company. PCL Construction, the main engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project, will install solar panels and ultra-low carbon trackers from manufacturers First Solar and GameChange Solar, respectively, according to the release. The Peacock 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.
BP said it will also carry out various agricultural and biodiversity activities in the Peacock project area, including planting vegetation, with the aim of improving habitat value and encouraging sheep grazing on the site to benefit the economy local countryside and keep farmland in production.
Peacock is part of BP’s goal to invest in and build 50 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2030. The company expects the project to deliver the expected returns from renewable energy.
“Achieving this agreement and getting construction underway on Peacock helps support the transition to lower-carbon energy, while benefiting local communities and the economy,” said BP America’s chairman and president, Dave Lawler. “It’s another way BP is accelerating the growth of our U.S. 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 GCGV President Paul Fritsch. “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 quoted the Solar Energy Industries Association as saying that Texas ranks second in the nation in solar power and is poised for growth, with more than 40 GW of capacity expected to be installed during the next five years.
Funding for hydrogen technology
Meanwhile, hydrogen technology company Advanced Ionics closed a $12.5 million Series A financing led by BP ventures, with additional investors including Clean Energy Ventures, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and GVP Climate, according to a press release previous BP.
Advanced Ionics is a developer of a new category of hydrogen electrolyzers useful for expanding green hydrogen production. The new capital will help catalyze Advanced Ionics’ growth and facilitate the initial deployment of its Symbion water vapor electrolyzer technology for heavy industry. Water vapor electrolyzers address two of the biggest obstacles to expanding green hydrogen production: costs and electricity requirements, according to the release. The company’s water vapor electrolyzer helps reduce costs and electricity requirements for green hydrogen production by symbiotically integrating with standard industrial processes to harness available heat.
“BP Ventures’ investment in Advanced Ionics is a powerful endorsement of our technology’s potential to help accelerate the green hydrogen future and heavy industry’s shift to decarbonization,” said Chad Mason, CEO of ‘Advanced Ionics. “The results we have achieved in our tests together with the interest from early customers have indicated that we are an ideal technology supplier for industrial customers looking to augment, expand or replace their existing hydrogen production facilities with green hydrogen”.
“Advanced Ionics’ technology has the potential to lower costs and disrupt the hydrogen market,” said BP Ventures Vice President Gareth Burns. “BP has a global portfolio of hydrogen projects and, as the world moves to a net zero future, it is important for us to invest in these technologies and advance the path to green hydrogen deployment. We look forward to working with Advanced Ionics in the next stage of its growth”.
Advanced Ionics will use the funds to expand its equipment and deliver its next-generation electrolyzer systems to the first customers. The company is already demonstrating the effectiveness of its product through a pilot program with the global energy company Repsol Foundation. In addition to the BP Ventures investment, BP will also explore pilot opportunities with Advanced Ionics, he added.
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