Lightsource bp has forayed into a new solar market, Taiwan, which also marks its entry into the East Asian region, with a 150 MW project co-locating solar with aquaculture in a co-development partnership with Green Rock Energy.
The 150 MW Budai project will be one of the largest fishery solar farms in Taiwan, according to Lightsource bp. It will enable fishermen to farm on around 200 ponds and add saltwater storage ponds to optimize the water management process for the fish farmers.
Construction on site is scheduled to commence in June 2023 and on completion, the project is expected to generate 210,000 MWh annually. During construction period, the project is expected to create 750 jobs.
Partnering with local developers and hiring local companies is the strategy Lightsource bp said it will follow in Taiwan to bring in international expertise and combine it with local experience, which is its strategy in most markets it expands into for instance in New Zealand (see Lightsource BP Launches Solar JV For New Zealand).
"Taiwan relies on imports for about 95% of its energy which leaves its energy supply vulnerable to external disruption," explained Lightsource bp CEO Nick Boyle. "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."
Recently, the British company expanded itself into France with an aim to grow its solar pipeline to 1 GW by 2026 (see Lightsource BP Expands To French Market). It counts EMEA, Americas and Asia Pacific region as its focus markets.
The British company has been announcing its entry into various new markets in recent months. In Sept. 2021, Lightsource BP released to achieve development of 25 GW of solar by 2025, backed by a $1.8 billion credit and trade finance facility from 10 global financial institutions (see Lightsource BP Targeting 25 GW Solar By 2025).