Octopus Energy’s generation arm has taken a 12.5% stake in the 660MW Walney Extension offshore wind farm off the coast of England.
The wind farm is made up of 87 turbines and has been operational since 2018, producing clean power for nearly 600,000 homes.
It is located in the Irish Sea off the coast of Barrow-in-Furness in the north west of England, amongst a cluster of offshore wind farms in an area with strong wind resources.
The deal marks the sixth offshore wind farm Octopus has invested in since last year. It has backed Hornsea One and Lincs in the UK as well as two offshore wind farms in the Netherlands and one in Germany just weeks ago.
The latest investment was made by the newly-launched £3bn Octopus Energy Offshore Wind fund – set up with a cornerstone investment from Tokyo Gas – and the Sky fund (ORI SCsp), both managed by Octopus Energy Generation.
“The future for offshore wind is here and now – and just this year, wind power overtook gas in Britain,” said Octopus Energy Generation chief executive Zoisa North-Bond.
“The UK is already a world leader in offshore wind and we’re confident this secure and home-grown energy source will play an even bigger role in the country’s energy mix.
“We’re overjoyed to make this investment after we recently announced our Offshore Wind Fund, and we’ll continue to rapidly scale our offshore wind activity globally.”