Lightsource bp, one of the global leaders in the development and management of solar energy projects, continues its global expansion with a 150MW project co-locating solar with aquaculture in Taiwan
The company has partnered with Green Rock Energy on a co-development opportunity, along with other Taiwanese developers to combine its expertise and the local knowledge of its partners.
Nick Boyle, group CEO, Lightsource bp said, “There are a lot of interesting opportunities for solar in Asia and our long-term ambition is to have an EMEA, Americas and an Asia Pacific region so we’re excited that through our first East Asian project in Taiwan, we are beginning to build that third leg of the stool.
“Taiwan relies on imports for about 95% of its energy which leaves its energy supply vulnerable to external disruption. This energy challenge, coupled with the need for sustainably generated electricity makes Taiwan a unique project and we’re thrilled to draw on our global experience and work with Green Rock Energy to step up to the challenge,” Nick added.
Inching closer to a low-carbon future
The move to enter the Taiwanese market comes after Lightsource bp secured a US$1.8bn credit and trade finance facility last year to fuel its global growth strategy of developing 25GW of solar by 2025.
Commenting on Lightsource bp’s move into East Asia, David Anderson, bp’s senior vice president of renewables growth, added, “This deal reflects the innovative ways renewable energy can be deployed to power both industries and communities. Lightsource bp has achieved phenomenal growth and it’s exactly the type of pace we want to keep as we head towards a Net Zero future.”
Eugene Chien, ambassador-at-large of Taiwan, and chairman of Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy said, “In the process of promoting Taiwan to achieve its net-zero emission goal, the industrial chain, public and private sectors, and the public need to join hands to jointly promote the comprehensive transformation of energy, industry, life and society. Among them, the solar energy industry plays a key role in Taiwan’s energy transition process. It is great to see world-class solar companies like Lightsource bp join the ranks of Taiwan’s energy transition and work together to achieve the goal of 20GW of solar energy installations by 2025.”
Cohabitating solar and aquaculture
Lightsource said that its 150MW project gives equal consideration to clean energy, and ecological and economic development.
Located in Budai, the project will be one of the largest fishery solar farms in Taiwan, creating 750 employment opportunities during construction, which is expected to commence in June 2023. Once constructed, the project is expected to produce 210,000MWh of renewable electricity a year, enough to power roughly 43,000 homes and save 133,770 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
According to Lightsource, the fishery solar project has been designed to benefit the local environment and community. Throughout the process, Lightsource bp is said to have engaged environmental specialists as well as local fishermen to provide expertise and design a project with multiple benefits. These include enabling fishermen to farm on around 200 ponds as well as adding saltwater storage ponds to optimise the water management process for the fish farmers.
