Lightsource bp Secures Deal to Power 88 bp Stations in NSW With RE 

Lightsource bp has announced that through a PPA with Snowy Hydro, its West  Wyalong  solar farm will supply renewable energy to 88 of bp’s service stations across New South Wales (NSW), Australia.  This milestone, the firm claims, is the result of a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Snowy Hydro which owns, operates and maintains the Snowy Scheme and is the fourth largest energy retailer in the Australian National Electricity Market given the strong growth of its retailer Red Energy in New South Wales in recent years. 

The PPA will enable the construction of a 107 MWdc  solar farm in West  Wyalong, New South Wales. Snowy Hydro will purchase  two-thirds of the  238,000 MWh  generated  annually  from the solar farm through a 15-year PPA. Under this arrangement Snowy-Hydro will in turn  supply 23,000MWh  of  renewable energy annually,  through Red Energy, to bp for 10 years to meet the power requirements of all its service stations throughout the state of New South Wales. 

New South Wales residents can expect the 88 bp service stations to be powered by 100 percent renewables from January 2023. Lightsource bp has secured a contract with an EPC company and is now working to bring the project portfolio to financial close. 

Adam Pegg, country manager, Lightsource bp – Australia, said “we are delighted to be able to leverage our existing relationship with Snowy Hydro on our solar farm in Wellington, to sign this PPA with our West  Wyalong  project.  Being able to facilitate powering bp’s service stations in New South Wales with renewable electricity from our West  Wyalong  solar farm is an achievement which demonstrates our commitment to provide sustainable and affordable energy to our communities.”

The firm has also reported that it has completed the sale of 100 MWp of UK solar projects to FTSE 250 renewable energy investment company NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF), for a total consideration of GBP 64.3 million. The transaction consists of two 50MWp solar projects, one in Yorkshire and one in Nottinghamshire, one of which is already commissioned, and the second will reach connection in the first half of 2021.