In this week’s news round-up, we discuss an important update in solar manufacturing and BP’s major investment into renewable energy.
First Solar plans to double U.S. production at new Ohio facility
U.S.-based solar manufacturing company First Solar recently announced that it would build a 500 employee factory in Lake Township, Ohio, about an hour from Cleveland. CNN reported that this factory will be the world’s largest solar manufacturing plant outside of China. First Solar is the largest American solar panel manufacturer, with 1,600 employees within the United States, and 5,000 globally. Their new factory is expected to produce three gigawatts of power annually, which is enough electricity to power approximately 570,000 homes. (If you would like to read more First Solar’s products, you can do so here!)
BP announces 220 million dollar investment into solar projects
BP recently announced that it would purchase assets with a production capacity of 9 gigawatts from developer 7X Energy. This deal marks BP’s latest investment in solar energy since buying a stake in Europe’s largest solar developer, LightSource, in 2017. This investment is a part of BP’s larger carbon reduction strategy to reduce their oil production and simultaneously grow their renewable energy capacity to 50 gigawatts by 2030. BP’s new projects span across 12 U.S. states, the largest of which are located throughout the Midwest and in Texas.
BP’s transition to renewable energy is a part of a larger trend of energy companies pivoting from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy.
