Green groups see red as BP plans the closure of its alternative energy office

The Times
June 18, 2009
Robin Pagnamenta Energy and Environment Editor

BP is planning to shut the London base of its alternative energy business in a move that provoked fresh anger yesterday from environmental groups.
The oil group leased a 40,000 sq ft office in County Hall, Central London, less than two years ago to house BP Alternative Energy. That office is being wound down and about 80 staff are to move back to BP’s corporate head office in St James’s Square across the Thames.
A BP spokesman confirmed that the move was taking place and said that a restructuring drive had opened up extra space elsewhere.
The decision was criticised by environmental groups, which said that it was another sign that BP’s claim to be moving “Beyond Petroleum”, the initiative introduced in 2000 under Lord Browne of Madingley, the former chief executive, was being ignored.

Charlie Kronick, a spokesman for Greenpeace, said: “Since 2007 they have been selling off and downgrading their alternative energy businesses. It just shows what a con this idea of Beyond Petroleum really is. More and more, BP is showing that it is really only committed to its core business of oil and gas.”
BP insists that it has not wavered in its commitment to lower-carbon energy. In 2005, it set out plans to invest $8 billion in alternatives by 2015 and until recently had been running ahead of schedule. But the rate of investment has fallen: capital expenditure on alternative energy is expected to drop to as low as $500 million (£305 million) this year.
The move from County Hall comes after the departure of Vivienne Cox, BP’s head of alternative energy.
BP Alternative Energy operates a range of businesses, including American wind farms, solar power, biofuels, hydrogen energy and carbon-capture and storage projects. Last year BP invested in Brazilian sugar-cane ethanol, purchasing a 50 per cent stake in Tropical Bioenergia. The two companies will invest $1 billion in two new biofuel plants in Brazil.
Tony Hayward, BP’s chief executive, has questioned the economics of solar energy, claiming that the technology was unlikely ever to be as competitive as fossil fuels.
* The nuclear decommissioning agency finally announced the name of its new chief executive, ending a year-long search for a candidate. Tony Fountain, a former executive from BP, will take up his position overseeing the clean-up of some of the most radioactive sites in Europe, including Sellafield, in October.