The infamously leaky Big Oil poster child British Petroleum announced it’s investing $200m into one of Europe’s premier solar companies, Lightsource.
The investment will allow BP to gain a 43% stake in Lightsource over the next three years, rename the company Lightsource BP, and take 2 seats on their board.
Meh. Sort of. With oil prices down, and everyone waking up to the threat of climate change, solar is predicted to account for around 10% of global power in the next 20 years, and Big Oil wants a piece of the pie.
Consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie estimates the industry needs to spend $350B on wind and solar between now and 2035 for their renewable market share to catch up to the 12% they hold in oil and gas.
Despite the facts, BP is moving super slowly into lower-carbon alternatives. A $200m investment into a solar company is pennies against their $1.87B net profit in Q3 alone.
In other words, BP gave oil their Letterman’s jacket long ago, and they’re still going steady. Even if their dating is responsible for nearly 2% of the total rise in CO2 and global sea levels.