Octopus Renewables (ORIT) launched in December 2019, raising a whopping £350m (click here to read more). The company is targeting investment in construction, construction-ready and operational renewable energy infrastructure assets across the UK, wider Europe and Australia.
To this end, ORIT has this morning announced its first investment since its IPO, a construction-ready onshore wind farm in Ljungbyholm, Sweden.
ORIT has exchanged contracts on the wind farm and completion is expected to take place shortly, at which point the company will have acquired 100% of the wind farm from OX2 for a cash consideration, including future construction payments, of €68m (approximately £59m).
Today’s investment amounts to approximately 17% of the net IPO proceeds and is the first in a pipeline of opportunities that Octopus Investments is currently pursuing on behalf of the company..
The wind project is expected to have an operating life of 30 years with a total capacity of 48 MW.
ORIT expects construction on the project, which is located in the Kalmar municipality in South Sweden, to begin shortly and complete in mid-2021. Current plans project that the wind farm will be fully operational in the second half of 2021. The construction will be carried out by an affiliate of OX2, under a fixed-price turnkey construction contract.
The wind farm, consisting of 12 turbines, is expected to have an operating life of 30 years with a total capacity of 48 MW. The construction is expected to be completed without debt finance at the project level, allowing the Company flexibility to optimise the strategy for power sales over time.
Chris Gaydon, investment director at Octopus Renewables, commented: “We are pleased to announce our first acquisition on behalf of Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust. Scandinavia is an attractive market due to the possibility of combining high levels of wind resource with the latest wind turbine technology, and we are delighted to have had the opportunity to acquire this asset in southern Sweden. Furthermore, acquisition of the Ljungbyholm Wind Farm may lead to further opportunities for collaboration with OX2, one of Scandinavia’s leading renewable energy developers.
Since IPO our pipeline has continued to grow and we are actively pursuing a number of opportunities for the Company in our target markets across the UK, wider Europe and Australia. This first investment is in line with the timelines anticipated at IPO and over the coming weeks and months we look forward to updating shareholders on our progress towards deploying the balance of the IPO funds.”
About ORIT
ORIT, part of Octopus Investments and the wider Octopus Group, is a specialist clean energy investment manager with a mission to accelerate the transition to a future powered by renewable energy. Since 2010, Octopus Renewables has, on behalf of its clients, invested in a diverse portfolio of assets with a capacity of over 2.5GW and is now the largest commercial solar investor in Europe and a leading UK investor in onshore wind. Octopus Renewables is co-led by Matt Setchell and Alex Brierley and has over 70 employees in the UK and Australia.
ORIT: Octopus Renewables makes first post-IPO investment with €68m Swedish onshore wind farm deal