Octopus Energy unlocks French green power
Octopus Energy’s generation arm is powering ahead with its green energy push in France, striking four deals in solar and wind energy to power 150,000 homes.
These latest deals have propelled Octopus past a significant milestone, with the company now managing 500 MW of green power across over 30 operational and under-construction wind and solar farms across France.
France is Octopus’ largest clean generation market in continental Europe – and these deals mark the latest leap in Octopus’ €1 billion investment plans for France’s renewables market.
A sunny boost
To speed up solar, Octopus expanded FFNEV – a renewables developer it backs in Spain, Portugal, and Romania – into France, on behalf of the Octopus Energy Development Partnership (OEDP).
FFNEV France aims to deliver 500 MW of new solar farms by 2030 primarily focused on agrivoltaics, alongside 100 MW of energy storage by 2030. This is across regions such as Grand Est, Nord, Pays de la Loire, Nouvelle Aquitaine, and Occitanie, and will be enough to power around 110,000 homes.
In addition, Octopus acquired two newly-operational solar farms from the renewable energy company BayWa r.e. with a combined capacity of 80 MW in the Indre region in central France and in Charente Maritime in the south-west, on behalf of the Sky Fund (ORI SCSp). The two 40 MW solar farms are on former military bases, have been designed for sheep farming, and can power 18,000 homes a year.
These solar deals come hot on the heels of Octopus’ acquisition of agrivoltaics developer OX2 France earlier this year. They combine solar energy with agriculture to maximise land use and boost biodiversity, targeting the development of almost 500 MW of solar projects by 2031.
A wind win
To ramp up wind energy, Octopus acquired the Vallee 1 wind farm in the Aisne region from Enertrag. The 35 MW wind farm is due to go live at the end of the year and power over 14,000 homes annually.
Octopus also acquired the Terrier de la Pointe 20 MW wind farm from Q ENERGY, located in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It will produce clean power for around 10,000 French homes annually once operational by summer this year. Both wind farms were acquired on behalf of the Sky fund (ORI SCSp).
Beyond generating clean power, Octopus Energy’s French business already supplies energy to 500,000 customers - and its customer base has more than doubled in the past 12 months.
Last year, it also launched its pioneering ‘Fan Club’ in France, giving cheaper electricity to customers living near a Nantes wind farm when the wind blows, with plans to expand the innovation into more locations around the country.
Zoisa North-Bond, CEO of Octopus Energy Generation, said: “France has incredible potential to become a renewable energy powerhouse. We’re always looking at how we can create a cleaner and cheaper energy system for everyone. With these latest investments, we’re scaling cutting-edge agri-solar to wind farms delivering home-grown clean power to power 150,000 homes.”
