Solar power will not be able to compete with conventional energy until there is a breakthrough in the technology, BP’s chief executive has said, in a further sign of the company’s move away from renewables towards oil and gas.

BP has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in making solar cells and components, but in the past six months it has been closing factories around the world, and announced a sharp cut in its investment in alternative energies, such as solar, from $1.4bn last year to $1bn (£658m) this year.