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Octopus Energy Group’s generation arm is expanding its European reach. It entered the Dutch green energy market only weeks after it had begun in Germany. The Netherlands is now the 14th country in which Octopus Energy Group has generation or retail assets.
Octopus Energy Generation’s team of fund managers acquired the Borssele V offshore Wind Farm, which was operated by Eneco. It is made up of two large Vestas turbines, each one as tall as the Gherkin Building in London. It is located in the Dutch North Sea. These turbines are the largest in Octopus’ portfolio. It is located in the Borssele windfar zone, which consists of five wind farms that have a combined capacity of 1.5 GW.
Since 2021, the Borssele V windfar has been in operation. It is capable of producing 19 MW. The Dutch green energy company Vandebron supplies the green power generated at the wind farm to customers throughout the Netherlands. The wind farm generates enough energy to power approximately 25,000 homes per year and offsets 16,000 tonnes carbon emissions. This is equivalent to taking out 10,000 petrol cars.
Octopus purchased it from a group of sellers, including Van Oord. Borssele V was also a pioneer in world-first offshore wind innovations. This included a method to secure turbine foundations and technologies to increase marine biodiversity around turbines.
As Octopus continues to increase its offshore wind investments, this is the next step in their offshore wind strategy. This follows Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust’s April acquisition of a stake at the Lincs offshore windfarm off the east coast of England by its fund management team.
The European government has made offshore wind a key component of its energy security plans. The Netherlands is Europe’s third-largest offshore wind market, after Germany and the UK. It plans to double its offshore wind power by 2030.
Zoisa Nord-Bond is the CEO of Octopus Energy Generation. She said: “We are expanding green power across Europe, and over the next ten years we will accelerate our investments in renewables. It is amazing to be able to enter the Dutch renewables market so quickly after we had our first wind energy contract in Germany. The Netherlands is moving towards the end of fossil fuels, and we are here to support them. We made a big splash in offshore wind this year and have a lot more on the horizon.
Matt Setchell is the Co-Head Octopus Energy Generation’s fund management team. He stated: “Offshore Wind is a crucial part of energy transition and it’s an increasing important part of what will we be doing as fund management business. As we grow our global specialist team, we’ll bring investors more opportunities.”
Octopus Energy Generation has 3 GW of European renewable energy assets. Octopus Energy Generation is increasing its generation capabilities. It plans to create 18 GW of green energy generation projects around the globe by 2027.
