Lightsource BP readying construction of 70MW trio for US university

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
A rendered image Lightsource BP shared in February for one of the planned solar installations (Credit: Lightsource BP)

Lightsource BP is days away from launching construction works for a utility-scale solar pipeline it will deploy for a US university, set to go live next year.

Contacted by PV Tech today, the London-headquartered group confirmed it will break ground on a PV plant in Pennsylvania on 6 September, the first of a 70MW pipeline of three.  

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

According to a spokesperson, Lightsource BP will fund, develop and run the trio meant to power Penn State University. All three will require US$75 million in investment, the spokesperson explained.

The firm confirmed 500 acres worth of panels will be rolled out across three sites in Pennsylvania’s Franklin County, a 20-mile distance from Penn State’s Mont Alto campus.

As Lightsource separately noted on its website, 134 of the total 500 acres of land has been rented from two Pennsylvanian lifelong farmers, under a 25-year contract.

The plan, the spokesperson explained to PV Tech, is to intersperse native vegetation between the panels to draw pollinators and help the land recover from prior farming uses.

Construction of the 150,000-panel installation should, they added, see all sites up and running by summer 2020.

As Lightsource and Penn State said when their jointly unveiled the project in February, the 70MW solar portfolio will cover 25% of the academic institution’s power needs for 25 years.

The solar agreement emerged just months after a separate 25-year PPA was signed for an onsite PV array at Penn State, intended to supply 1% of power needs of one of its campuses.

The US work is part of Lightsource BP’s current string of solar projects abroad, including a 700MW-plus pipeline worldwide, a 1.9GW push in Brazil and co-financing for Indian renewables.

As reported by sister title Solar Power Portal, the firm has also had an active past few months in its home UK soil, hitting milestones for projects in Nottingham (49.9MW), Rugby (17MW) and Swansea (9.9MW).

US solar prospects amid PPA uptake and a changing policy landscape will take centre stage at Solar Media's Solar & Storage Finance USA, to be held in New York on 29-30 October 2019

7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.
21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

July 18, 2025
The average price of solar panels used in distributed generation projects in the US reached US$0.27/W by the first half of the year.
July 18, 2025
Companies have signed 4.22GW of solar PV power purchase agreements in the first half of 2025, according to Swiss consultancy Pexapark.
July 18, 2025
PV Tech spoke with international buyers and investors on key industry issues such as new technology equipment procurement, supply chain management and ESG compliance.
July 18, 2025
Georgia Power’s 2025 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) will see the utility aim to install 4GW of new renewable power capacity by 2035.
July 18, 2025
Decisions and actions related to the US Department of Interior (DoI) will ‘undergo elevated review’ of solar PV and wind facilities.
July 17, 2025
Indian solar manufacturers are among the targets of a new petition filed by US producers alleging illegal trade practices by overseas firms.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 22, 2025
Bilbao, Spain
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK