BP’s solar power division is planning to completely move its solar business out of the U.S. to China, India, and other countries. Due to higher prices and other costs associated with producing energy in the U.S., BP hopes they will be able to make solar panels much more effectively elsewhere.
Originally they had a 70 million dollar strategy, hoping to double their output at a solar-panel manufacturing plant in Frederick, MD. High costs in America led BP to move it’s solar operations to “where we can manufacture cheaply.”
The problem is that silicon is very expensive and producing solar power here in the U.S. just isn’t cost effective. According to the article, “BP Solar Chief Executive, Reyard Fezzani, said the U.S. market for solar was almost flat in 2009, with solar module prices dropping about 50 percent.” The plant was making 125 millimeter multi-crystalline solar cells, whereas the rest of the industry had already moved on to 156 millimeter cells. Rather than spending even more money to change the production lines, Bp figures it would be more beneficial to ship out to foreign countries where production is cheaper. They figure they will cut their costs by more than 45%.
On the other hand, 320 workers will be laid off as a result. 100 others will keep their jobs for research, sales, and project development.
Bp has already been working with companies from India and China so this is not unfamiliar to them. They also plan on building a 32 megawatt solar generation plant on Long Island, NY.
It’s hard to trust these oil companies due to all of the hype about fossil fuels. Is the company really trying to move forward with alternative energy or do they just want to control it in order to hinder its success? So far it seems like they are actually trying to make solar cells more popular by lowering production costs, in turn making solar cells cheaper. The cheaper they become, the better. On the other hand, it would really be nice to see the U.S. take off with solar power but that just isn’t happening at this point. Gas prices will continue to rise, which will hopefully force a stronger affinity to solar and wind power.
--Sam Lippincott
