Octopus Energy and Nest form joint venture with GLIL to invest £400m in world’s largest offshore wind farm

• Octopus expands relationship with Nest to invest £200m pension savers’ money in Hornsea One Offshore Wind Farm
• Establishes joint venture with GLIL, together acquiring a 12.5% stake
• More offshore wind deals in the pipeline after only recently entering the sector

London, Wednesday 3rd August 2022 - Octopus Energy Group’s generation business, one of Europe’s largest investors in renewable energy, has worked with Nest to take a stake in the Hornsea One Wind Farm, the world’s largest operational offshore wind farm, making a positive impact with UK pension savers’ money.

Octopus Energy Generation’s fund management team invested £200m in Hornsea One on behalf of Nest, one of the UK’s largest pension schemes representing a third of the UK workforce. Through a joint venture with GLIL Infrastructure, who are also investing £200m, together they’ve acquired a 12.5% stake from Global Infrastructure Partners for a total of £400m*. GLIL is a £3.6bn fund investing in infrastructure on behalf of pension funds**.

The 1.2 GW Hornsea One wind farm is off the Yorkshire coast, harnessing the UK’s vast wind resources to generate green power for over a million homes. Its 174 wind turbines are 190m tall, larger than the Gherkin building. It’s operated by Ørsted, operational since 2020.

Offshore wind is a pillar of many European energy security strategies - and the UK the world’s top offshore wind market. The price of offshore wind has fallen to the cheapest it’s ever been***, which will help drive down energy bills.

Octopus entered the offshore wind sector recently and this deal marks its third, with more in the pipeline. It follows investments in Lincs Offshore Wind Farm in England on behalf of Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust (ORIT), the Borssele V Offshore Wind Farm in the Netherlands, and in floating offshore wind developer Simply Blue.

Octopus and Nest have worked together since last year when Nest appointed the entech business to help it invest billions in green energy on behalf of Nest’s 11 million pension savers. They’re expanding the relationship with this milestone offshore wind deal.

Zoisa North-Bond, CEO of Octopus Energy Generation, comments: “The UK is already a world leader in offshore wind but there is still so much more we can do. Harnessing the UK’s strong wind resources out at sea will help provide energy security and bring down energy bills. We’ve already made a splash in offshore wind after only entering this renewable technology earlier this year, and we have lots more coming up.”

Alex Brierley, Co-head of Octopus Energy Generation’s fund management team: “This latest deal is testament to the growing demand we’re seeing from institutional investors to invest in renewable energy. It’s brilliant to be expanding our relationship with Nest and starting a new one with GLIL to help pension savers’ money make a truly positive impact on people and the planet. The more we collectively invest in renewable energy, the faster we can shift to a greener, cleaner future.”

Stephen O’Neill, Nest’s Head of Private Markets: “Renewable energy sources have huge potential for long-term investors like Nest. Its desirability should only increase in the coming years and as the UK accelerates towards net-zero, we’re confident Hornsea One will deliver inflation beating returns and grow the money our members have invested. I’d like to thank Octopus Energy Generation and GLIL for helping us access this deal. It’s a fantastic opportunity and exactly the type of investment we want to be involved in.”

Daniel Hobson, Investment Director at GLIL Infrastructure and Head of Real Assets at

Greater Manchester Pension Fund, said: “Offshore wind capacity plays a major role in the

generation of renewable energy, so the potential of what is being developed here is vast.

Our investment will not only support the UK’s energy transition and net-zero ambitions, and

continue our track record in the renewable energy sector, it will also generate sustainable,

long-term returns for millions of pension fund members. We’re now looking forward to

working with Octopus Energy Generation on this joint venture and the team at Ørsted.”

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

Sources:

*Please note: the deal has been signed and completion is scheduled to take place by around

October 2022.

**Please note: GLIL Infrastructure invests on behalf of pension funds and pools including

Local Pensions Partnership Investments, Northern LGPS and Nest, the government-

established DC workplace pension provider.

***UK offshore wind costs, July 2022, Carbon Brief

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 GW of renewable energy assets like wind and solar farms across 10 countries, worth over £4.2bn. These renewable projects generate enough green energy to power 2 million homes every year, and is the equivalent of taking over 800,000 petrol cars off the road. The business also launched the Fan Club in 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.

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. It is part of Octopus Group, which is a certified BCorp. With operations in 14 countries, Octopus Energy Group's mission is going global.

Octopus’s domestic energy arm already serves 3.4 million customers with cheaper greener power, through Octopus Energy, M&S Energy, 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 £4bn portfolio of renewable energy assets throughout the continent.

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 over 20 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 a $600 million investment from Generation Investment Management and a $300 million investment from Canada Pensions Plan Investments Board. Both investors back businesses that drive sustainability, promote green energy and tackle climate change. It was the company’s third major investment round since launching to the market.