Lightsource bp joins German electricity market
Lightsource bp, establishes its latest footing in the European market today, by announcing the setup of a new local team and base in Berlin. The company’s entry into Germany brings Lightsource bp’s European footprint to 10 countries; the majority of markets opening after Lightsource and bp joined forces in a 50:50 JV just five years ago.
Germany’s federal government recently recognised a significant booster is required for the expansion of renewable energy technologies across the country, with a target of 215GW of solar by 2030. Today there are only 66.5GW. In total, the country is aiming to provide 80 percent of its electricity demand from wind and solar by 2030. This is a big step in implementing its ambitious energy transition.
Leveraging its international experience and scale, Lightsource bp believes it can make a significant contribution to the urgently needed transformation of the German electricity market. The targets mean annual solar installations will need to reach 22GW, a challenge in a very fragmented market.
What Germany needs is not only a political booster in the approval processes, but also viable companies to attract investment and take on the project development and construction. Lightsource bp has already proven its ability to scale-up fast, building out teams and project pipelines rapidly in France, Poland, Portugal and Greece in recent years.
By 2030, Lightsource bp intends to develop 300 to 400 megawatts of solar system capacity in Germany every year. For comparison, the total output of the largest German nuclear power plant is 1400MW and that took eight years for the construction phase alone.
Nick Boyle, CEO of Lightsource bp: “Germany needs the power transition and the recent decisions by Economics Minister Robert Habeck can ensure the right framework conditions. Lightsource bp works and thinks in gigawatts and have launched corresponding projects very quickly and reliably in many other European countries. This is now also our ambition for Germany - as a reliable partner for municipalities, landowners and energy companies who are just as ready as we are to deliver on a large scale."
In addition to project development, Lightsource bp also manages the implementation, operation and asset management of gigawatt scale portfolios of solar systems. It is also building out global energy storage capabilities to enable the faster and deeper rollout of renewables on the grid.
Stephan Jeznita, Head of Business Development at Lightsource bp in Germany: “Our country has set itself very ambitious goals and is on the way back to becoming a global pioneer. Approval procedures are still too complex and lengthy. However, as a company, we can handle complexity and we are not deterred by complicated approval processes. Our goal is to become one of the leading project developers in Germany. To this end, we are currently building our development pipeline to the multi-gigawatt range. In concrete terms, we are exploring various greenfield, co-development and acquisition opportunities.”
Lightsource bp Germany is based in Berlin and is growing rapidly. By the end of the year, 12 to 20 new jobs will be created for people who share the passion to advance solar development throughout Germany as quickly as possible. The company employs over 1000 people worldwide.
