Oil major bp has started construction of its 187 MWdc Peacock Solar project, located 10 miles north of Corpus Christi in San Patricio County, Texas. It is expected to come online in the second half of 2024.
Peacock will sell all of the electricity it generates under a long-term power purchase agreement to Gulf Coast Growth Ventures, a joint venture of ExxonMobil and SABIC, which produces materials used to manufacture a wide range of products including construction materials.
Located near the GCGV complex, Peacock will supply power directly to the facility. The project is expected to create around 300 jobs during construction, provide more than $25 million in tax revenue over the first 25 years of the project's life, and at full capacity, avoid the emission of 256 000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year.
Dave Lawler, bp America chairman and president, commented. "This is another way bp is accelerating growth of our US solar generation capacity, investing in America, and advancing our transformation to an integrated energy company."
bp's 50:50 joint-venture partner, global solar leader Lightsource bp, is developing the project and managing the construction on behalf of bp.
PCL Construction, the main engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project, will install ultra-low carbon solar panels and trackers from US-based manufacturers First Solar and GameChange Solar, respectively.
Peacock will also be home to a range of agricultural and biodiversity activities, including planting vegetation under and around the solar panels (including native plant species beneficial to pollinators and other wildlife) and will be aiming to improve habitat value, species composition, soil health and overall ecosystem functions at the solar farm.
Peacock is part of bp's aim to invest in and build renewable energy capacity of 50 GWby 2030. It anticipates that the project will meet its expected returns for renewable power.
Image: Peacock Solar development under construction (Credit: bp)
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