Harvesting Sunshine: Octopus Energy rolls out innovative solar investment on French farms

• French farmers to save millions through use of large new solar sheds for storage on their land
• Octopus invests in 100 rooftop solar projects on farms, with plans to build hundreds more
• Next step in Octopus’ target to invest €1bn into France’s green energy market to accelerate France’s renewables roll-out

London, 24 July 2024 – Octopus Energy’s generation arm announces a new solar investment that will save French farmers millions of euros, as it rapidly ramps up its green energy activity in the country.

Octopus has added 100 rooftop solar projects on French farms to its portfolio through its acquisition of Sungen 10 from ELECO. Octopus will work with ELECO and local partners to build up to 100MW new rooftop solar projects at hundreds of French farms by 2030.

The partners will build large sheds with solar panels on the rooftops on farmers’ land. Farmers benefit from using the new buildings for free to store equipment, vehicles and hay, saving tens of thousands of euros they’d have each spent building the structures themselves.

It’s the latest in a string of rooftop solar deals Octopus has made around Europe, including in Portugal, Ireland and the UK.

This investment, made on behalf of the Sky fund (ORI SCSp) it manages, underscores the global energy tech firm’s commitment to supercharging France’s renewable energy capacity. France has around 20GW of solar capacity, with plans to boost it further.

The deal marks the next step in Octopus’ plans to channel €1bn into France’s clean energy market by 2025 - its largest green generation market on continental Europe.

Octopus now manages 13 onshore wind farms and 14 solar farms as well as rooftop solar projects across the country, with more deals in the pipeline. Earlier this year it also invested in Ocergy, a tech disruptor in the floating offshore wind sector, with operations in France.

This comes as Octopus Energy Group continues to drive innovation in France. Last year it launched a new European tech hub in Paris with its tech platform Kraken to support hundreds of clean energy jobs. Its French energy supplier is targeting 1 million customers by 2026, offering stellar customer service and innovative services to slash energy bills.

Alex Brierley, Co-head of Octopus Energy Generation, said: “This is a win-win for farmers and Octopus Energy. Putting the roofs of farm buildings to work by installing solar panels means farmers get a free structure to store equipment and we can generate more clean power quickly and easily. Solar power is consistently one of the cheapest sources of energy we can build. These innovative small-scale projects distributed around the country shine a light on the future of renewable generation.”

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

Press Contacts

Octopus Energy Group

Amy Boekstein

PR Manager

press@octoenergy.com

+44 (0)20 4530 8369

About Octopus Energy Generation

Octopus Energy Generation is driving the renewable energy agenda and building green power for the future. It is 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 specialist renewables investors, it manages 3.7 GW of green energy projects like wind and solar farms in over 15 countries, worth £7bn ($9bn). These generate enough green power for 2.3 million homes every year - the equivalent of taking over 1 million petrol cars off the road.

Octopus comes up with innovative tech-enabled products to change ingrained thinking about energy, positively influence the net zero economy and deliver cheaper energy for customers. This includes the ‘Fan Club’, a world-first tariff providing discounted energy to people living near wind turbines when it's windy, which has seen 25,000+ requests for local wind turbines, and Winder (Tinder for Wind), Octopus’ tech platform to speed up new turbines development driven by community demand. For more information, check out our website.

About Octopus Energy Group

Octopus Energy is a global clean energy tech business, driving the affordable, green energy system of the future. Under its own retail brand, Octopus delivers world-class customer service and cutting edge energy products to 7.9 million households globally. Its operations span 18 countries and the entire energy value chain. The group invests in, builds and flexibly manages renewable energy, operating a £7 billion portfolio of projects.

Octopus has licensed its advanced data and machine learning platform, Kraken, to support over 54 million customer accounts worldwide through licensing deals with companies such as EDF, E.ON and Origin Energy. Kraken enables Octopus to drive the electrification of heat and transport through smart tariffs and innovative cleantech. Backed by pension funds, investors and energy giants, Octopus Energy Group businesses deliver cheaper, greener energy and cutting-edge tech to countries and customers worldwide.

For more information, check out our website

About ELECO

ELECO is a solar electricity producer since 2009, specialized in large PV rooftops or sheds. It

operates 450 PV plants in France. For more information, check out www.eleco.fr