The generation arm of clean energy investment house Octopus Renewables has signed off on €25m ($26m) of financial backing for Simply Blue, adding to a 24% stake taken last year in the Irish blue economy developer to spur ahead plans for a 10GW pipeline of floating wind projects off the UK and in wider international waters.
The fresh investment, made on behalf of Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust and the Sky fund, comes on top of an additional €2.5m raised from unnamed other investors by Simply Blue, a Cork-based early-stage project outfit focusing on floating wind, e-fuels, wave energy and low-impact aquaculture.
“The floating wind sector will undoubtedly play a vital role in the clean energy system of the future. Just over a year after we first invested in Simply Blue, their development pipeline of projects has grown significantly,” said Chris Gaydon, investment director at Octopus Energy Generation.
“Given falling costs, improving technology, and growing investment, this area is going from strength to strength. We’re right at the forefront of this innovative and fast-growing market, working with Simply Blue to accelerate its growth and expand its development pipeline.”
Sam Roch-Perks, Simply Blue’s CEO, added: “The reinvestment demonstrates the company’s support to [us] and the renewables sector [and] will enable us to grow our pipeline even further and move forward with a range of international projects outside of floating wind.”
Octopus manages over 3GW of renewable energy assets including a portfolio of wind and solar farms in 11 countries worth £5bn.
