Octopus Energy is to invest $20 billion (£15 billion) into offshore wind by 2030 with a view to generating 12GW of renewable electricity a year.
The investment, which will be made via Octopus Energy’s generation arm, will look to bolster offshore wind capacity globally, with a it’s a focus on Europe. The energy company confirmed that it already has several deals in the pipeline.
Octopus Energy Generation has already been expanding within the European wind market having announced that it opened seven new onshore wind farms, with a combined capacity of 250MW, in the UK, Germany, Sweden, France and Poland earlier this year.
Outside Europe, Octopus signed deals in Japan to provide its services there and produce around 250MW of solar power, and is also taking its “Fan Club” model to other global markets.
Batten down the hatches: we’re investing £15.6bn in sea wind this decade.
— Octopus Energy (@OctopusEnergy) July 25, 2023
Homegrown offshore wind made 14% of the UK’s elec needs this year alone, but we need much more to end reliance on dirty gas 🌊
Grimsby, Skegness, there may be a seaside ‘Fan Club’ on the horizon too 👀 pic.twitter.com/ZbOCGxyd67
Zoisa North-Bond, CEO of Octopus Energy Generation, said: “Offshore wind has already rapidly transformed the UK’s energy system – and we’re incredibly excited about the potential for this technology globally.
“We’ve got big plans to invest in even more of these big fans to help wean ourselves off polluting gas. Offshore wind will undoubtedly continue to play a pivotal role in meeting net zero, boosting energy security and driving down bills.”
Octopus’ offshore wind expansion plans come just a month after RenewableUK released its latest EnergyPulse data report stating that the UK’s pipeline of offshore wind projects had reached 97.94GW, up from 91.29GW a year ago, whereas the global pipeline topped 1.23TW – a figure which increased almost 500GW in a year.
The UK has the second biggest pipeline globally, with only China’s 157GW pipeline being bigger. The US is in third place with 82GW, Sweden has the fourth largest at 75GW, and Brazil is fifth with 63GW.
The UK led the world in operational offshore wind capacity at the end of 2020 with 10.4GW, but was surpassed by China in 2021 when it reached 16.9GW. China has built another 5GW since then, and now accounts for 48% of global capacity in offshore wind.
Current± publisher Solar Media is hosting the third edition of its Wind Power Finance & Investment Summit Europe in London this 19-20 September. The conference will focus on investment strategies, alleviating bottlenecks, and which countries and technologies are the most exciting ahead as the industry sets to expand to help reach 2030 targets. Packed with industry leaders representing financiers, investors, developers, government departments and more this is the leading conference for decision makers in the European wind industry. More information, including how to attend, can be read here.