Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust plc has completed the acquisition of four newly-built solar farms in Ireland with a total capacity of 199 MW for €160 million. The farms generate enough green energy to power around 50,000 homes and will avoid around 60,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
Furthermore, the facilities were bought from a local unit of Statkraft AS which developed and constructed the projects. The solar farms were originally subject to a conditional agreement between ORIT and Statkraft Ireland, with completion subject to the sites becoming fully operational.
The farms entered commercial operations in late December 2023, following which ORIT has now completed the acquisition. The purchase was partly funded through a €80.6 million debt facility provided by Allied Irish Banks and La Banque Postale. Moreover, Microsoft Corporation has already signed up to a 15-year agreement to buy the energy produced by the farms.
In November 2023, Octopus Energy’s generation arm invested in the Walney Extension offshore wind farm in the UK. It is located in the Irish Sea off the coast of Barrow-in-Furness in the north west of England. Octopus has taken a 12.5 per cent stake in the 660 MW wind farm. The wind farm is made up of 87 turbines each taller than the 158 metres high Blackpool tower.