BP Turns Its Attention & Capital to Low-Carbon Energy

CHICAGO — BP plc is putting $500 million a year behind a push for low-carbon energy.

According to a report by Bloomberg, the oil company sees "significant commercial potential" in solar power and is becoming more active in trading carbon credits. It also plans to set targets for emissions from operations, Deputy CEO Lamar McKay said.

In December, BP invested $200 million in a company that develops photovoltaic farms in Europe, the news outlet reported. The move marked BP's return to the solar market after a six-year absence.

BP is based in the United Kingdom; it's U.S. headquarters is in Chicago.

The company is not the only player in the oil industry looking toward a new fuels future. This past summer Royal Dutch Shell plc revealed it would spend as much as $1 billion a year on its New Energies division as renewable power and electric cars gain in popularity with consumers, as CSNews Online previously reported.

Speaking at the World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul, Turkey, Shell CEO Ben Van Beurden highlighted the potential for some of the fastest-growing nations to leapfrog straight to a cleaner energy mix.

"In some parts of the world we are beginning to see battery electric cars starting to gain consumer acceptance" while wind and solar costs are falling fast, Van Beurden said on July 10. 

"All of this is good news for the world and we must accelerate," while still offering opportunities for producers of fossil fuels, he added.