One of the biggest backers of renewables in Europe is investing over half a billion Euros into onshore wind, generating enough clean power for more than a quarter of a million homes in three countries.
Specialist renewables investor Octopus Energy Generation is making a major Europe-wide push into the green energy market on the Continent, acquiring 321MW of onshore wind farms across 17 sites.
Its fund management team has invested €584M in wind farms in France, Germany and Poland, on behalf of the Sky fund (ORI SCSp) it manages, accelerating homegrown clean power across key European markets. These wind farms will generate enough green power for over 250,000 homes.
In total, Octopus now manages 67 onshore wind farms in the UK and Europe, including France, Germany, Poland, Ireland, Sweden and Finland, with over 400 large-scale renewables projects worldwide.
This push comes at a time when power from onshore wind is already one of the cheapest sources of energy — and plays a key role in Europe, with 265GW of onshore wind installed including 17GW last year alone.
French winds, fresh wins
Octopus has acquired 143.5MW of wind farms in France, its largest renewables market in continental Europe. These wind farms are at a mix of operational and construction stages and, once fully built, will generate a steady flow of green electricity for around 65,000 French homes every year.
The various farms are located across 10 sites in Hauts-de-France, Grand Est, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Brittany, Centre-Val de Loire and Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
Fast lane for Energiewende
Over the border in Germany, Octopus has also acquired four wind farms with 102.5MW in capacity across Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Hesse and Baden-Württemberg. Helping drive the Energiewende there, two are already up and running, generating clean power today, while the remaining two are under construction.
Together, these projects will generate clean power for 71,000 German homes annually. Octopus has now made its 15th deal in Germany since entering the market a few years ago, underlining its rapid expansion.
Poland plugs into renewables
In addition, Octopus has acquired three operational wind farms with a combined capacity of 75MW in the blowy north of Poland. These generate enough clean energy to power around 120,000 Polish homes a year.
The deal also includes access to a pipeline of new renewable projects in development, as the country accelerates its shift away from coal towards a cleaner and more diverse energy mix.
Homegrown and affordable
From France to Germany and Poland, these projects are part of a wider shift away from polluting fossil fuels towards homegrown, affordable, clean power, says Zoisa North-Bond, CEO at Octopus Energy Generation:
“Europe has one of the greatest wind resources in the world. With major ambitions to build more wind farms, we’re still only scratching the surface of what’s possible. We need to move even faster to unlock untapped potential.”
Recent events have only served to strengthen demand, concludes North-Bond:
“Amid volatile gas prices and rising geopolitical risk, countries are quite rightly turning to clean energy. Decentralised renewables like onshore wind offer a faster and more secure path to energy independence and security.”
As one of Europe’s largest specialist renewables investors, Octopus Energy Generation manages 4.9GW of green energy projects such as wind and solar farms in 21 countries, together worth £7bn. These generate enough green power for 3.2M homes every year — equivalent to taking over 1.3M petrol cars off the road.
Octopus works to pioneer innovative tech-enabled models and solutions to help people become part of the energy transition. Its groundbreaking initiatives include The Collective, the first FCA-regulated UK investment platform launched by an energy supplier. It allows people to invest directly in renewable energy projects, like wind turbines or solar farms, from as little £25. Shares in the first two projects sold out within six days.
Further Reading:
- More about Octopus Energy Generation; including its UK investment platform The Collective;
- Also on SustMeme, Clean energy deal to power 1 in 10 homes in Spain;
- Also on SustMeme, 91% renewable energy projects now cheaper option;
- Also on SustMeme, Time to repower and reprocess old wind turbines;
- Also on SustMeme, Wind power to headline at Glastonbury Festival;
- Also on SustMeme, Energy transition to add 40 million jobs by 2050.
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