The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) commits £80 million to Octopus Energy Generation’s Sky fund (ORI SCSp).
With this latest investment, the Sky fund has now raised over £1 billion, as it accelerates the drive towards a green energy system globally.
ISIF, managed and controlled by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), is a sovereign development fund with a unique mandate to invest on a commercial basis in a manner designed to support economic activity and employment in Ireland. So far, ISIF has committed over €500 million as part of its €1 billion climate investment programme.
As part of this, they’re partnering with Octopus – one of Europe’s largest investors in renewables – to back even more green energy projects.
As Octopus scales its investments into green energy projects locally, Octopus Energy Generation will open an office in Dublin over the coming months. This is Octopus’ first office in the Republic of Ireland.
The Sky fund launched in March 2021 and Octopus is aiming to raise £3 billion for it by 2025, while also broadening its geographical and technological footprint.
Through this fund alone, Octopus has already invested in nearly 30 projects in 9 countries, including in British and Dutch offshore and German and Swedish onshore wind farms as well as in developers of new solar energy projects in Ireland and Japan.
As part of the fund’s 25% allocation outside of core renewable energy, it has also invested in electric vehicle charge point infrastructure and a green hydrogen Joint Venture with RES.
This comes as forecasts show $9.2 trillion a year is required to invest in renewable energy projects globally, highlighting how much vital capital is needed to reach net-zero by 2050*.
Alex Brierley, co-head of Octopus Energy Generation’s fund management team said: “We’re seeing significant appetite from institutional investors to act as a catalyst in accelerating the green energy transition – and it’s brilliant to welcome ISIF on board as our latest investor.
“It’s incredibly exciting to see our landmark renewable energy fund exceed the £1bn mark. We’re geared up to scale it even further and continue to make a hugely positive impact with our green energy projects.”
Paul Saunders, Head of Climate at ISIF said: “This commitment is a clear example of ISIF’s intention to make sizeable investments with best-in-class international investors and create long-term strategic partnerships, to help Ireland deliver on its decarbonisation targets.
“Given the urgency of climate change, we need large scale renewable energy assets to be deployed at scale and at pace. Octopus Energy Generation’s track record in delivering renewable energy infrastructure at scale, both in Ireland and internationally, will be a positive addition in helping Ireland deliver on its Climate Action Plan.”
Octopus Energy Generation, one of Europe’s largest renewables and energy transition investors, manages £6bn of green energy projects across over 15 countries.
Its fund management team provides institutional investors with specialist access to renewable energy infrastructure and private companies at the forefront of driving the energy transition.
Its Sky fund is an open-ended and evergreen investment fund accelerating the energy transition through investing in a diversified portfolio of energy transition projects.
It is also an Article 9 fund as defined by the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), which means that making a positive impact is at its core.