Octopus Energy Generation has returned to Italy’s energy generation market through a partnership with Milan-based renewables developer Nexta Capital Partners.

The Octopus Energy Development Partnership (OEDP) fund is setting up a joint venture with Nexta to create 1.1GW of new onshore wind, solar farms and energy storage in the south of Italy by 2025.

Octopus Energy said OEDP is providing funding to Nexta to help secure land, grid connections, planning permission and local community engagement to get renewable projects to the ready-to-build stage.

OEDP, a €220m fund, managed by Octopus Energy Generation, targets solar, onshore wind and energy storage projects in Europe.

Zoisa North-Bond, CEO of Octopus Energy Generation, said: “Building more new green energy will help reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels and drive down energy bills.

“Onshore wind and solar are some of the cheapest forms of energy - and Italy can generate it right on their soil. To avoid a repeat of the energy crisis, it’s essential we turbocharge the creation of new renewable energy and shift to a low carbon energy system.”

Fabrizio Caputo, co-founder and managing director of Nexta, said: “The partnership with Octopus represents a further step towards the consolidation of our growth objectives within the renewable energy industry. We aim to play a leading role with Octopus in the energy transition process.”

Octopus Energy Italy launched its energy supplier brand in Italy in June 2022 after acquiring SATO Luce e Gas in November last year.

Giorgio Tomassetti, CEO of Octopus Energy Italy, said: “After launching the Octopus Energy brand in Italy this year, we’re really expanding in the country.

”Making energy cheaper and greener for people in Italy has always been the mission, and rising energy bills have added more urgency to this. Building more green energy will help us get out of this crisis.”

Octopus Energy Generation previously invested in the Italian renewables market in 2017 to build 173MW of solar farms in Lazio and Sardinia and exited in February last year.

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