[9] The company began commercial operations in 1991 by establishing its first manufacturing unit with a production capacity of 3 MW in India.

[11] In 2004, the R&D part of BP Solar was sold to the UK's National Renewable Energy Centre (Narec).

[17] In the mid-1980s BP installed Solar power for Microwave repeater stations across Sierra Leone in support of a telecommunications network restoration.

[citation needed] BP Solar (with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation — CSIRO) was also involved in the commercialization of a long-life deep cycle lead acid battery, which is well suited to the storage of electricity for renewable remote area power systems (RAPS).

A significant component of the project will be the establishment of an innovative manufacturing process to enable the production of these advanced batteries at an internationally competitive price, facilitating a major export market.