BP Puts Sun to Work for Pumps, Lighting

a href = “http://www.greenbiz.com/frame/1.cfm?targetsite=http://www.bp.com/key_is…“>British Petroleum is set to install solar-panel canopies at its 40 new BP Connect convenience stores in Orlando during the coming months to power the stores’ gasoline pumps and lighting.

The company said it is investing $100 million in the Orlando market to develop new stores and retrofit existing stations to meet the company’s environmental standards. BP also said it would make a new lower-sulfur gasoline available at the stores to help lower the area’s air pollution levels.

According to a BP press release, the Florida Solar Energy Center in Orlando said BP’s solar panels would be the largest collective commercial application of photovoltaic energy in Florida. And the new fuel, which has 65% less sulfur than the average premium gasoline in the Orlando area, meets EPA standards not required until 2006, BP says.

“These stores are making renewable solar energy and lower-sulfur gasoline part of Orlando’s air quality solution,” said Tom Feeney, Speaker of Florida’s House of Representatives. “With air pollution always a major concern, that’s good news.”

BP said the renewable energy used to power the pumps and lighting in the BP Connect convenience stores would “significantly reduce” the amount of energy the stores have to use from other, non-renewable sources.

British Petroleum says it is the largest private user of solar electricity in the world.