Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust PLC on Monday said it will invest up to £2 million to fund a new solar and battery storage development business.
The London-based investment firm, focused on electricity generation assets, said it will own 100% of the new company, which will be focused on creating ground-mounted solar photovoltaic panels and co-located battery storage assets in the UK.
The company added that the project will benefit from exclusive development services from BLC Energy Ltd, a newly formed specialist renewable energy project developer.
Octopus said it will initially invest £700,000, with up to £2 million invested to support the cost of the project until the end of 2025. The new company will have a pipeline of more than 350 megawatts of projects, Octopus said, noting that it expects to secure land rights and grid connection offers.
The firm added that it will have exclusive rights to provide more funding to take the project to ready-to-built status between 2025 and 2029.
Chair Phil Austin said: ‘This latest investment into a new development platform for solar PV and battery storage assets is an exciting addition to ORIT’s portfolio. Investing in the early stages of creating new renewable energy projects brings huge growth opportunities for ORIT, both from value creation through successfully delivering projects, and from the exclusive opportunity to invest into the construction of the sites once they are ready to build.
‘We are delighted to be working with BLC Energy to develop a large pipeline of impactful green energy projects that will help accelerate the energy transition and deliver clean, affordable, secure energy for decades to come.’
Octopus Renewables shares rose 0.1% to 92.90 pence each on Monday afternoon in London.
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