LONDON (Reuters) - Lightsource BP, Europe’s biggest solar energy developer, will build a 70 megawatt (MW) solar project for Penn State university in Pennsylvania, the company said on Tuesday. ** The project is expected to be complete by July 2020 and will provide around 25 percent of the university’s state-wide electricity demands for 25 years, Lightsource BP said. ** No financial details were released. ** More than 150,000 solar panels will be installed in total in three locations near the university campus. ** Lightsource has been ramping up investments in the United States and last year bought a 135 MW portfolio of six solar assets in Pennsylvania and Maryland from Orion Renewable Energy Group LLC. [nASA00PRM] ** Oil major BP acquired a 43 percent stake in Lightsource in 2017. Reporting By Susanna Twidale; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise
Lighstource BP will construct a 70 MW solar plant for Pennsylvania's Penn State University. Estimated to come online next July, the project will provide 25% of the school's power demand over a period of 25 years, according to the company. The plant will consist of three panels located on more than 150,000 sites close to the campus. In 2017, BP bought a 43% stake in Lightsource, which increased its investment activities in the US. That included last year's acquisition of Orion Renewable Energy's 135 MW solar portfolio, which has assets in Pennsylvania and Maryland.