BP Begins Construction of Ohio Solar Farm, Makes PPA with Meta

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Earlier this week, BP (NYSE:BP) (London, England) announced that it has commenced construction on an Ohio solar farm and inked a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Facebook parent Meta Platforms Incorporated (NASDAQ:META) (Menlo Park, California) for all of the facility's output. Industrial Info is tracking more than $3.6 billion of active U.S. solar projects from BP, primarily through its subsidiary Lightsource bp (London), in which it holds a 50% stake.

The Arche photovoltaic solar farm is being constructed on 850 acres in Fulton County, Ohio, using Jinko bifacial solar modules. Upon completion, which is set for late 2023/early 2024, the facility will have a nameplate generating capacity of 107 megawatts (MW). Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here for more details.

Meta operates a data center in New Albany, Ohio, on the outskirts of Columbus and about 180 miles from the Arche location. The company is underway with an expansion project at the facility that entails adding a 450,000-square-foot data hall intended to be powered by 100% renewable energy. Construction is set to be completed in the coming months. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can click here for the full report.

As Meta strives to power its facilities from renewable energy, the company continues to make PPAs with developers. Examples include last year's PPA between Meta and TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (Calgary, Alberta) for all of the output of the planned Horizon Hill Windfarm near Logan, Oklahoma. The facility will use 34 5.8-MW turbines to achieve a nameplate generating capacity of about 200 MW. Construction is set to begin in the coming months and be completed in late 2024. Subscribers can click here for more information.

BP increased its stake in Lightsource bp to 50% in late 2019 in an effort to diversify from the oil and gas sector. Since that time, Lightsource bp has become a leading solar developer throughout the world. Most of the company's projects in the U.S. being tracked by Industrial Info are in the Great Lakes and Southwest market regions. Examples include a grassroot solar farm near Ventress, Louisiana, which will use First Solar Incorporated (NASDAQ:FSLR) (Tempe, Arizona) thin-film photovoltaic modules to achieve a generating capacity of 345 MW. Construction began in late 2021 and is expected to be completed toward the end of this year. Subscribers can click here for more details.

In the Great Lakes region, Lightsource bp's projects under construction include the Honeysuckle solar farm near New Carlisle, Indiana. The facility will use 365,000 First Solar modules for a generating capacity of 150 MW. Construction kicked off late last year, with Inovateus Solar LLC (South Bend, Indiana) providing engineering, procurement and construction services. Construction is set to be completed in early 2024. Subscribers can click here for the full report.

Subscribers can click here for a look at all of the reports for the projects discussed in this article, and click here for the related plant profiles.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).