BP is readying offshore wind bids during the next six months with heightened hydrogen activity also in the pipeline, the oil major’s CEO, Bernard Looney, said yesterday.
BP CEO Bernard Looney says moves are coming soon on the hydrogen front. (Credit: BP)
During the company’s Q3 results call, Bernard Looney said BP would ‘probably’ bid in offshore wind auctions that are scheduled in the next six months.
The firm revealed a U.S.-focused partnership with Equinor in September, its first foray into offshore wind. Looney said bidding in auctions over the next six months would also be carried out in partnerships rather than independently.
In its home market in the U.K., there are active seabed leasing rounds. Denmark’s 800 MW to 1,000 MW Thor project closes to bids on March 15. The Netherlands’ Hollandse Kust (west) project, which could be as large as 1,400 MW, is scheduled to tender in Q2 2021.
BP is targeting 20 gigawatts of renewables by 2025 and 50 GW by 2030. It currently has around 10 GW completed or in the works and options on another 20 GW. Most of its early successes have come via its 50 percent stake in solar developer Lightsource BP.
Looney said the company is more likely to add megawatts via partnerships, like those with Lightsource BP and Equinor, and capacity auctions than through merger and acquisition activity.