BP venture claims 'we can handle red tape complexity' as debut eyes big German role

Lightsource BP – the solar developer 50% owned by the global oil supermajor – claimed it can help kick-start massive solar development in Europe’s largest economy despite “market complexities” as it moved into Germany for the first time.

The UK-based joint venture, which is already active in markets such as France, Spain and Portugal, aims to be developing up to 400MW of PV annually in Germany by the end of the decade.

That means reaching 22GW of additions a year, compared to about 5GW in 2020 and 2021, in a market where advancing green power projects has become bogged down in red tape in recent years.

“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,” said Lightsource BP.

The cabinet of Chancellor Olaf Scholz in January approved a series of measures to simplify the permitting of wind and solar plants in a bid to speed up renewables deployment.

Stephan Jeznita, newly appointed head of business development at Lightsource BP in Germany, said: “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.”

With a 25GW global installation target for 2025, up from about 4GW now, Lightsource BP is one of the key planks of BP’s renewable energy strategy, which also encompasses offshore wind and hydrogen.