One of the largest oil companies in the world is now making a major shift to renewable electricity. By 2030, BP plans to spend $5 billion a year on low-carbon energy, becoming one of the largest producers of renewables in the world. The company announced a new strategy today that it says “will reshape its business as it pivots from being an international oil company focused on producing resources to an integrated energy company.”
At the moment, Nextera Energy is the world’s largest renewables provider, with around 20 gigawatts of solar and wind energy. BP aims to increase its own capacity by twentyfold compared to its current numbers so that it is producing around 50 gigawatts by the end of the decade. (EDF, a French energy company, has the same goal.) Its fossil fuel production will shrink by at least 1 million barrels of oil a day compared to what it produced in 2019. It will invest more in bioenergy and hydrogen. Today the company has around 18,700 gas stations around the world; it plans to expand its electric vehicle charging points from 7,500 to 70,000 by 2030.
“I think what this reflects is really a responsible assessment of where the world is going in terms of energy demand, where the opportunity for growth exists, and demonstrates that the company wants to remain an energy company, as opposed to an oil and gas company,” says Danielle Fugere, president and chief counsel of As You Sow, a nonprofit that focuses on environmental change through shareholder advocacy. Read Full Article - Fast Company, August 4, 2020