British renewable company Octopus Energy Ltd. plans to be a key offshore wind developer in Germany and could even compete in government tenders to build the projects.
The U.K.’s second-largest household energy provider, which has already earmarked €1 billion ($1.1 billion) of investment for clean energy in Germany, aims to bid in the country’s wind auctions in the “next year or two,” chief executive officer Greg Jackson said on the sidelines of the Handelsblatt energy summit in Berlin.
Developing offshore wind would mark a big commitment to the sector from Octopus, which typically takes stakes in existing projects. Jackson is undeterred by the offshore industry’s current woes of ballooning costs and supply chain snarls that forced major developers like Orsted A/S and Vattenfall AB to shelve projects, describing such hurdles as “short-term” issues.
Read more: Orsted Partner to Sell Wind Farms, Take $1.6B Charge
Octopus entered the German renewables sector in 2022 and has since backed four onshore wind developments and taken a share in the Butendiek North Sea offshore farm, with several more projects in the pipeline. Globally, the company plans to spend $20 billion on offshore wind by 2030, with the target largely centered on capacity in Europe.
Octopus also wants to expand in the German retail market, aiming for one million customers by 2026.
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