Octopus identifies renewable energy targets in Ireland
OCTOPUS, a British renewable energy firm with assets in Donegal, is eyeing Ireland and 10 other countries for additional investments.
The company listed its first investment fund – Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust (Orit) – in London late last year.
Just prior to that, the group acquired a 15MW wind farm in Donegal. That marked the group’s first foray into the Irish market.
At the time, Octopus Renewables said the company was interested in acquiring further assets in Ireland.
Orit said yesterday that £2.2bn (€2.4bn) of operational and construction-ready renewable investments that are potential acquisition targets have been identified.
The company also has made non-binding offers on, or secured exclusive rights to, a further £1.7bn worth of potential renewable energy investments.
It said this £1.7bn pipeline of projects includes 333MW of solar and onshore wind farms in the UK, France and Spain.
The £2.2bn in potential investment targets are spread across Ireland, the UK, Finland, France, Germany, Italy,
Australia, Sweden, Poland, Spain and the Netherlands.
Orit raised gross proceeds of £350m (€388m) when it floated on the London Stock Exchange last December.
The Octopus Renewables arm of the Octopus group is one of the largest renewable energy investors in the UK, with more than £3bn of assets under management.
Orit said that to date, it has committed about 59pc of the net proceeds raised from its initial public offering (IPO).
It expects the balance of those proceeds will be committed by early autumn.
“Despite the reduction in energy demand and drops in short- and medium-term power prices due to the Covid19 pandemic, the timing of
Orit’s IPO and recent transactions has ensured that the vast majority of the recent energy price falls have been incorporated into the prices paid for investments,” the company noted yesterday.
Octopus Renewables’ investment director Chris Gaydon said the firm’s pipeline of potential investments has “continued to grow” across geographies and asset types.
“We are seeing a broad range of opportunities and are actively pursuing several further potential investments for the company,” he said.