Octopus Renewables Investment Trust first invested in the Cork-based group in August 2021, buying a 12% stake. Today’s purchase raises its interest to 15.5%. A further increase, to 19%, is agreed for next year, at an equivalent cost to the British fund.
Simply Blue has grown fivefold since late 2020, now boasting a worldwide 10GW pipeline of floating offshore projects, a third of them in Irish and British waters.
In March, the turbine floater was joined by Denmark’s Ørsted in the 100MW Salamander floating development off Scotland’s east coast.
The US and Japan complete Simply Blue’s roster of floating generation. It also addresses wave energy, aquaculture, deep water ports and e-fuels.
ORIT’s investment comes alongside an equal co-investment from Sky, a second investment fund managed by Octopus Energy Generation. Together, Octopus’ control of Simply Blue next year will stand at 38%.
The trust’s chair Phil Austin commented: “Floating offshore wind development is a promising and exciting area of renewables that ORIT is helping to grow even further.
“Simply Blue provides ORIT with additional diversification in the renewable technologies it covers, as it will enable us to tap into renewable energy generated in deeper waters, at stronger wind speeds and in different locations.”
Set up in 2010, the fund is now a subsidiary of its London-based parent Octopus Energy Generation. Its fund management team invests in renewable energy assets and projects across operational, construction and development stages. Its £5 billion of assets under management total around 3.2 GW in 11 countries.
