Earth Day every day: Through our responsible development approach
Today marks the 56th annual celebration of Earth Day. This year, the theme “Our Power, Our Planet” calls for individuals, communities and organisations to build environmental progress through everyday action.
At Lightsource bp, the theme resonates with us, not only today as team members celebrate through community cleanups, walk/bike commute challenges, workshops on reducing waste, and other outdoor activities, but every day as we are focused on safely delivering large-scale onshore renewable energy and storage solutions that benefit our partners, people and planet.
Lightsource bp has developed over 11.9GW of assets across APAC, EMEA and the Americas. In 2024 alone, our global renewable energy portfolio generated over 4.4TWh of electricity, avoiding estimated emissions of nearly 2,640,000 tCO2e associated with global energy generation. Through our responsible development practice, we demonstrate that large-scale projects and environmental stewardship can coexist and thrive together.
Responsible development
Responsible development is at the heart of our approach – delivering renewable energy and storage solutions while seeking to enhance ecosystems, local economies and progressing a sustainable supply chain. We look at biodiversity, multi-land use and other ways to provide low-carbon energy solutions.
Biodiversity by design: Goulburn River solar farm
At Lightsource bp, we are committed to promoting biodiversity in and around our projects. For example, at the Goulburn River project in New South Wales, Australia – our largest project globally to date – we shaped the 585MWp solar farm layout specifically to avoid high-value ecosystems and established a 1,200-hectare biodiversity offset on land adjacent to the site. Other activities included establishing a research study into the resilience of native grasslands under solar panels, supporting the conservation of the critically endangered Regent Honeyeater, planting up to 8,000 native trees, and funding conservation actions on an additional 800 hectares of land.
Multi-use solar: Healthier soil, happier sheep
Solar grazing is a form of agrivoltaics – combining agriculture with solar electricity generation, enabling livestock to graze and crops to grow beneath and alongside the solar panels.
It is common in the UK for solar farms to be developed on previously grazed land. However, at Lightsource bp we have developed over 55 sites where sheep grazing has been implemented alongside solar.
In the USA, during peak season, an estimated 20,000 sheep graze 20 solar sites across 8 states. Through careful planning and management, solar grazing also aims to improve soil quality and support biodiversity on the land.
In Pennsylvania, our Nittany Solar project supplies energy to Penn State University whilst supporting farmers to graze sheep beneath the panels. A two-year study of our site revealed solar grazing builds healthier soil. The study shows that vegetation harvested from beneath solar panels has a significantly higher protein content and better digestibility than vegetation from open spaces on the same sites. This is potentially attributable to the beneficial shading the panels provide.
Earth Day celebrations from around Lightsource bp
While working at Lightsource bp we are committed to environmental stewardship, we also enjoy celebrating Earth Day through non-work activities. This year, team members from around the world are recognising the day in a variety of ways. In the UK, there is a group “Walk and Pick” litter-picking event in Central London and colleagues across the country are also taking part in many different ways, such as litter picking, nature walks, picnics and tree planting.
Our power. Our planet. Every day
Earth Day is a reminder for individuals, communities and organisations that environmental progress should be part of our actions, every day.
At Lightsource bp, we are committed to being good stewards of the environment. From our team members picking up litter in the UK, attending a recycling and composting workshop in Spain, participating in nature walks across the USA, to responsible development of our renewable energy and energy storage projects, Earth Day is an everyday practice we should all support.
Learn more about how our responsible development approach brings benefits to our partners, people and planet.
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Hett Moor Solar Farm awarded a contract in UK AR7 renewables auction
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Farming and energy – working side by side
Sheep grazing on solar farms combines agriculture with solar electricity generation, enabling livestock to graze and crops to grow alongside and beneath solar panels.
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