French Revolutions: Octopus Energy speeds up French green energy transition with three wind farm deals

• Octopus invests in three new wind farms with enough power for 30k homes
• Follows Octopus’ commitment to invest €1 billion in French green energy market in next 2 years
• Comes as Octopus joins business leaders gathered at the ‘Choose France’ summit

London/Paris, Monday 15th May 2023 - Octopus Energy’s generation arm announces its investment in three new wind farms in France.

The news comes as Octopus joins business leaders gathered at the ‘Choose France’ summit to accelerate investment in France’s economy.

The three onshore wind farms - Croix Erable, Bertaut, and Le Langrois - have a combined capacity of 49 MW and will be added to the 10 existing wind farms the company already manages in the country, bringing its total to 13. The company also manages 14 French solar farms and has numerous more projects in the pipeline.

The wind farms will be located in the Vienne region in the west and Haute Marne region in the northeast of the country. Construction has already started and they will become operational throughout 2023 and 2024. The Nordex turbines on the sites will produce enough green power for 30,000 homes.

This investment follows fast on the heels of Octopus Energy Group’s commitment to invest €1 billion in the French green energy market in the next two years. Octopus is aiming to generate enough local green power for 300,000 French households, while bringing lower costs and better customer service through its retail energy supply arm.

France is one of Europe’s most active wind markets with 2,000 MW of new wind farms built last year alone*. Renewables make up 25% of France’s energy mix with measures announced to boost this even further**.

Vincent Maillard, CEO of Octopus Energy in France, said: “We’re delighted to be at the Choose France summit recognising the essential role Octopus is playing in France’s shift to renewable energy. Green energy generated from wind farms like these will help unlock a more affordable and secure energy system for French customers.”

Alex Brierley, co-head of Octopus Energy Generation’s fund management team, said: “France is an absolutely fantastic place to build renewables and we’re committed to investing in lots more wind and solar farms in the country. France’s green energy transition is at a pivotal point, and we’ve got a clear mission: let’s continue to build more green generation to get cheaper, cleaner energy to even more people in the future.”

Octopus is looking to create enough green energy generation projects in Europe to power 15 million homes by the end of the decade. Octopus Energy Generation - who manage £6bn worth of renewable assets and energy transition projects globally - acquired these latest three wind farms on behalf of the Sky fund (ORI SCSp).

Octopus Energy Group first entered the French market in January 2022 after acquiring French energy supplier Plüm énergie. The company is targeting 1 million customers in France by 2026.

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

Sources:

*WindEurope 2022 statistics, 18 February 2023

**WindEurope article, 5 August 2022

Press Contacts

Octopus Energy Group

Amy Boekstein

PR Manager

+44 (0)20 4530 8369

amy.boekstein@octoenergy.com

About Octopus Energy Generation

Octopus Energy Generation is driving the renewable energy agenda and building green power for the future. This means reshaping the market by leading the transition to a cleaner, greener future through renewable projects connected more deeply to customers and businesses.

As one of Europe’s largest investors in renewable energy, its fund management specialist team launched in 2010 with a mission to accelerate the transition to a future powered by renewable energy. This team manages 3.2 GW of renewable energy assets like wind and solar farms across 13 countries, worth £6bn. These renewable projects generate enough green energy to power 2 million homes every year, and is the equivalent of taking over 1 million petrol cars off the road. The business also launched the Fan Club in the UK 2021, the world's first local energy tariff that provides cheaper, greener energy to customers living near local wind turbines when the wind blows, with a discount of up to 50%. Thousands of people have got in touch asking for the Fan Club in their community. For more information, check out our website.

About Octopus Energy Group

Octopus Energy Group is a global energy tech pioneer, launched in 2016 to use technology to unlock a customer focused and affordable green energy revolution. With operations in 14 countries, Octopus Energy Group has a truly global reach.

Octopus’s domestic energy arm already serves 5.3 million customers globally with cheaper greener power, through Octopus Energy, Bulb, Affect Energy, Ebico, London Power and Co-op Energy. Octopus Electric Vehicles is helping make clean transport cheaper and easier, and Octopus Energy Services is bringing smart products to thousands of homes. Octopus Energy Generation is one of Europe’s largest investors in renewable energy, managing a nearly £6 billion portfolio of renewable energy assets across the globe.

All of these are made possible by Octopus’s tech arm, Kraken Technologies, which offers a proprietary, in-house platform based on advanced data and machine learning capabilities, Kraken automates much of the energy supply chain to allow outstanding service and efficiency as the world transitions to a decentralised, decarbonised energy system. This technology has been licensed to support 30 million customer accounts worldwide, through deals with EDF Energy, Good Energy, E.ON energy and Origin Energy.

In December 2021, Octopus Energy Group was valued at approximately $5 billion following investments from Generation Investment Management and Canada Pensions Plan Investments Board. Both investors back businesses that drive sustainability, promote green energy and tackle climate change. These were the company’s third and fourth major investments since launching to the market.

For more information, check out our website.