Spotlight UK Operations & Maintenance: Planning & Logistics

At Lightsource bp, our Operations and Maintenance (O&M) team provides comprehensive third-party services for solar and battery energy storage systems (BESS) across the UK. A key component of these services is our Planning & Logistics team, who have a key role to play in making sure that we maximise performance and returns for the assets we manage.

What does the Planning & Logistics team do?

The Planning & Logistics team are responsible for making sure everything happens on time and to schedule, ensuring that all the assets we manage are operating as efficiently and productively as possible. Our planners carefully plan and track maintenance activities for each project, each year, ensuring 100% completion. This is a complex exercise than sounds very simple, but requires constant reshuffling, not least as activities are often weather dependent. Every year, our team manage over 3,500 planned maintenance activities.

As well as planning preventative maintenance activities, the team also ensures that reactive maintenance is scheduled as soon as possible, to minimise downtime on the assets in our portfolio, splitting engineer time between proactive and reactive maintenance. Notably, in 2024, due to diligent planning, two regions were able to achieve 100% string availability – illustrating how the Lightsource bp team strives to maximise production across all the assets we manage.

Part of the team’s remit is managing the necessary spare parts required to optimise performance of client sites. The Planning and Logistics team organise spare parts on a site-by-site basis, with a storage container of vital equipment in place at each project, as well as strategic spare parts available across the regions. This system allows the team to respond quickly to reactive maintenance issues, and minimise downtime by cutting lead time on sourcing replacement parts. The team manages relationships with around 100 different suppliers to ensure that we’re able to source everything we need to ensure high level performance across all the assets we manage.

Why choose Lightsource bp’s O&M team?

The Planning and Logistics team within O&M at Lightsource bp is dedicated to ensuring the seamless operation of solar and storage assets, minimizing downtime, and providing long-term value for our clients. By combining industry-leading expertise, rigorous organisation and carefully-maintained relationships, we deliver the reliable, high-performance operations that are critical for success. Whether you’re an asset owner or part of a third-party service, our team is here to help ensure the continued success of your renewable energy operations.

To find more about Operations and Maintenance services from Lightsource bp click here.