Octopus Energy’s generation arm has added 100 rooftop solar projects on French farms to its portfolio as part of a new investment to ramp up the firm’s green energy activity in the country. Through its acquisition of Sungen 10 from software company ELECO, Octopus will also work with the firm and local partners to build up to 100 megawatts of new rooftop solar projects at hundreds of French farms by 2030. Farmers involved in the project will have new large sheds built with solar panels on the rooftops for free – which can be used to store equipment, vehicles and hay, saving tens of thousands of euros they would have otherwise each spent building the structures themselves. The deal marks the next step in Octopus’ plans to channel €1 billion (US$1.1 billion) into France’s clean energy market by 2025 – its largest green generation market on continental Europe. Octopus now manages 13 onshore wind farms and 14 solar farms as well as rooftop solar projects across the country, with further deals in the pipeline. Octopus has also made other rooftop solar deals across Europe, including in Ireland, Portugal and the UK. “This is a win-win for farmers and Octopus Energy. Putting the roofs of farm buildings to work by installing solar panels means farmers get a free structure to store equipment and we can generate more clean power quickly,” said Alex Brierley, Co-head of Octopus Energy Generation. “Solar power is consistently one of the cheapest sources of energy we can build. These innovative small-scale projects distributed around the country shine a light on the future of renewable generation.”
