Octopus Energy Generation buys small stake in UK offshore wind farm

OSLO (Reuters) – Octopus Energy Generation has bought a near-8% stake in the 270- megawatt Lincs wind farm off the East of England, its first investment in a large UK offshore wind farm, it said on Thursday without disclosing financial details.

The wind farm has been producing power since 2018 and is operated by Denmark’s Orsted.

“We’re dipping our toe in the water with this investment – but this is only the beginning,” Zoisa North-Bond, CEO of Octopus Energy Generation, said in a statement.

The renewable energy company also has wider ambitions for offshore wind and will ramp up its activities in this area over the coming 12 months, she added.

In 2021, Octopus invested in floating offshore wind developer Simply Blue Group by taking a 24% stake.

The company highlighted the UK’s ambitious offshore wind target for 50 gigawatt (GW) of capacity by 2030 as a key reason for its latest investment.

Octopus Energy Generation manages 3 GW of renewable energy assets such as wind and solar farms across seven countries, worth over 4 billion pounds ($4.99 billion), it said.

($1 = 0.8019 pounds)

(Reporting by Nora Buli; Editing by Bernadette Baum)