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Lightsource bp and Schroders Greencoat: Partnering for the future

The scalable and flexible nature of solar power lends itself well to collaborations and partnerships. The blending of agriculture and solar energy generation is a great example.

In the UK, the Pen Rhiw project, developed by Lightsource bp and now managed by Schroders Greencoat on behalf of its investors, illustrates the multi-layered advantages of solar.

The land itself continues to be used to grow cattle feed, while providing a steady and sustainable income for the farming business. As part of our environmental stewardship, the site was designed to maintain its agricultural function by strategically orienting the solar panels, enabling simultaneous renewable energy production and agricultural activity.

Schroders Greencoat partnered with Lightsource bp who perform operations and maintenance duties on the site. By building on the existing relationship with the site’s landowners, Lightsource bp continues to serve as an environmental steward of the land by optimising its productivity and ensuring the solar site is safely delivering the maximum amount of renewable energy possible.

Lightsource bp and Schroders Greencoat have been collaborating on UK solar assets since 2020 – a relationship that has expanded in scale and scope since. With a global pipeline of more than 60GW of solar, Lightsource bp can provide investors with the scale and volume of high-quality projects they demand in 19 markets around the world.

See the partnership in action

See how the Lightsource bp team works in the field at this Schroders Greencoat project while integrating with ongoing agricultural activity.

A tractor haybaling on a solar farm

We believe that the world’s energy transition relies on meaningful partnerships, like the one we enjoy with Schroders Greencoat. Through our responsible solar projects, our expert team of energy strategists, project developers and investment managers have over a decade of experience in forming strong and lasting partnerships with energy buyers, investors, landowners and other commercial partners. Find out how you could benefit from partnering with Lightsource bp.

Brown sheep with a lamb in front of solar panels

Learn more about agrivoltaics

Solar farms can grow more than electricity. Agrivoltaics (agriculture + “photovoltaics”) places crops or livestock underneath and between rows of solar panels. While researchers are trialling how to grow fruit and vegetable crops at scale, the most common and successful forms of agrivoltaics at solar projects currently are sheep grazing and bee keeping. These practices keep the land in agriculture while providing additional revenue for our farmer partners and ecosystem benefits to the environment.

Learn more about Lightsource bp’s agrivoltaics activity.

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