(Bloomberg) -- Bluebell Capital Partners continued its push for BP Plc to rethink its investments in clean energy, attacking the company’s involvement in solar projects in the UK.
The activist investor has been repeatedly critical of BP’s energy-transition strategy, arguing that it is going against the interests of its shareholders and wider society by moving away from fossil fuels too quickly. Bluebell’s co-founders, Giuseppe Bivona and Marco Taricco, have a record of shareholder activism, targeting a string of other corporate giants including Danone and Bayer AG.
In a letter to BP’s board of directors dated July 23, Bluebell alleged that a solar farm in Burnhope, near Durham, developed by Lightsource BP was either wasting capital or attempting to circumvent planning laws. The company applied for authorization of 49.9 megawatts of generation capacity at the project — just below a the threshold that requires approval by the central government — when it actually planned to install 76 megawatts of panels at the site, according to the letter which was seen by Bloomberg.
Bluebell accused Lightsource BP of doing the same thing at a project at Hett Moor, but with an even higher installed capacity of 94 megawatts. If a solar farm were to install 50% to 100% more panels than necessary it would yield a low or even single-digit return rate and represent a heavy loss-making project for shareholders, according to Bluebell.
Lightsource BP wasn’t immediately able to comment on the letter. BP has a stake of about 50% in the company and agreed late last year to take full ownership. It declined to comment on the specific allegations about the UK solar projects.
“From all our extensive and active engagement with our shareholders, we are not aware of any meaningful support for Bluebell Capital’s position and proposals,” BP said in a statement.
While Bluebell is among the most vocal activist investors, it only has a small stake in BP. Still, the company faces broader pressure from some shareholders to raise its profitability and narrow the valuation gap with more oil-focused US rivals.
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