Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust (ORIT) is to acquire a 51% ownership interest in the Crossdykes wind farm in Scotland. The remaining 49% is being acquired by another Octopus-managed fund.
Crossdykes, located in southern Scotland, was developed by Muirhall Energy and has been operational since June 2021.
It is amongst the largest unsubsidised wind farms in operation in the UK, with a total installed capacity of 48MW, made up of 10 Nordex turbines each of 4.8MW.
The wind farm currently benefits from fixed pricing through its PPA until March 2025, Octopus added.
Completion of the acquisition is expected to take place in autumn 2022, subject to receipt of regulatory consents.
Upon completion, ORIT’s operational portfolio will have a capacity of 608MW (excluding conditional acquisitions), with 3 assets currently under construction, which are expected to achieve operational status between Q3 2022 and the end of Q2 2023.
Crossdykes will represent approximately 5% of the Company’s portfolio on a gross asset value basis.
Alongside the acquisition, the Company has extended its revolving credit facility (RCF) by utilising the accordion feature of the RCF, bringing the total committed facility to £246m (€290m).
ORIT’s increased RCF, which was entered into under the same terms of the existing facility, will be used to facilitate the investment into Crossdykes as well as other near-term pipeline opportunities.
Separately, the Company notes the change of trading name of its Investment Manager, Octopus Renewables Limited, from Octopus Renewables to Octopus Energy Generation, following Octopus Energy’s acquisition of the Investment Manager in July 2021.
There are no operational or contractual changes as a result of the new trading name, and no change to the Investment Manager’s leadership or people.
Chairman of Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust Phil Austin said: “This significant investment into one of the largest unsubsidised wind farms in the UK adds a substantial operational asset to our portfolio.
“Once completed, this will be ORIT’s twelfth acquisition since IPO, with the portfolio now comprising 35 assets, highlighting the ability of our Investment Manager to build a high-quality portfolio of renewable energy assets, which in turn is critical to the UK’s target of becoming net zero by 2050.”