Octopus Energy’s generation arm has expanded its green energy operations in France, by striking four deals in solar and wind energy to power 150,000 homes.
To speed up its French solar presence, Octopus has expanded FFNEV – a renewables developer it backs in Spain, Portugal and Romania – into France, on behalf of the Octopus Energy Development Partnership (OEDP).
FFNEV France aims to deliver 500MW of new solar farms by 2030 primarily focused on agrivoltaics, alongside 100MW of energy storage by 2030. This is across regions such as Grand Est, Nord, Pays de la Loire, Nouvelle Aquitaine, and Occitanie, and will be enough to power around 110,000 homes.
In addition, Octopus has acquired two newly-operational solar farms from the renewable energy company BayWa re with a combined capacity of 80MW in the Indre region in central France and in Charente Maritime in the south west, on behalf of the Sky Fund (ORI SCSp). The two 40MW solar farms are on former military bases, have been designed for sheep farming, and can power 18,000 homes a year.
These solar deals come hot on the heels of Octopus’ acquisition of agrivoltaics developer OX2 France earlier this year. They combine solar energy with agriculture to maximise land use and boost biodiversity, targeting the development of almost 500MW of solar projects by 2031.
To ramp up its wind energy operations in France, Octopus has acquired the Vallee 1 wind farm in the Aisne region from Enertrag. The 35MW wind farm is due to go live at the end of this year and power over 14,000 homes annually.
Octopus has also acquired the Terrier de la Pointe 20MW wind farm from Q ENERGY, located in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It will produce clean power for around 10,000 French homes annually once operational by summer this year. Both wind farms were acquired on behalf of ORI SCSp.
Zoisa North-Bond, CEO of Octopus Energy Generation, said: “France has incredible potential to become a renewable energy powerhouse. We’re always looking at how we can create a cleaner and cheaper energy system for everyone.
“With these latest investments, we’re scaling cutting-edge agri-solar to wind farms delivering home-grown clean power to power 150,000 homes.”
Following these acquisitions Octopus now manages 500MW of green power across more than 30 operational and under-construction wind and solar farms across France.
France is Octopus’s largest clean generation market in continental Europe, and these deals mark the latest leap in Octopus’ €1bn investment plans for the French renewables market.
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