UK-based renewables developer Octopus Energy has acquired a 5% stake in the 288MW Butendiek offshore wind farm offshore Germany.
This is Octopus’s debut in the German offshore wind space and the next step towards realising its global offshore wind ambition. The purchase follows up on its plan to infuse more than €1bn ($1.07bn) into green energy and infrastructure in Germany by 2030.
Octopus is investing in the wind farm through its Sky fund (ORI SCSp), managed by its Octopus Energy Generation unit.
The wind farm has been operating since 2015 and is situated 32km from the island of Sylt in the North Sea.
It is powered by 80 Siemens SWT-3.6-120 turbines, each with 3.6MW of power-generating capacity.
The 288MW of clean energy generated from the project is sufficient to meet the needs of 370,000 German households.
Octopus Energy Generation CEO Zoisa North-Bond stated: “The prospects for offshore wind globally are incredibly promising. The more projects we realise, the faster we will see energy bills come down and end our reliance on dirty fossil fuels.
“Germany is a global trailblazer in offshore wind and en route to becoming Europe’s largest offshore wind market. We are thrilled to have made our first investment in the sector and plan to help the country achieve its ambitious target, with more deals across a range of renewable technologies coming soon.”
The company began to explore Germany’s renewables sector in 2022 and has invested in four onshore wind projects with 100MW of total capacity.
In July 2023, it announced plans to invest $20bn in offshore wind by 2030.
This investment is expected to support up to 12GW of renewable generation capacity annually, enough to power ten million homes.
In September 2023, Octopus agreed to buy a 10% stake in the 732MW Borssele III and IV win farms in the Netherlands from Partners Group.
It also recently agreed to invest in Norway-based renewables developer Deep Wind Offshore, which has a pipeline of projects in Europe and South Korea.