Octopus Renewables reports progress on several fronts

Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust announced a number of updates on its construction and development activities on Wednesday.

The London-listed company said the 67 MW Breach solar farm in Cambridgeshire was nearing the end of its commissioning process, and had started exporting some electricity to the grid.

Full export generation capacity was expected to be achieved by June.

The firm said the site had a 10-year power purchase agreement with supermarket operator Iceland Foods, which would purchase 100% of the production at a fixed price linked to UK inflation.

In Ireland, ORIT acquired a 199 MW complex of four newly constructed solar farms near Dublin in February.

The nearby 42 MW Harlockstown site had reached mechanical completion, and would be acquired from Statkraft Ireland once it passed required tests, expected in the third quarter.

Microsoft would be the off-taker for the production from the Harlockstown extension, as with the initial four sites.

ORIT said it had also agreed to invest €7m in Simply Blue Group, an Irish renewable energy developer focused on floating offshore wind projects and sustainable fuels.

The investment, structured as a convertible loan, would bring ORIT's ownership in Simply Blue to about 20%.

It said the funding aimed to support Simply Blue in developing its pipeline of projects while seeking long-term strategic funding.

Additionally, HYRO Energy, a joint venture involving ORIT, Sky and Renewable Energy Systems, was advancing its green hydrogen production projects.

The Northfleet project was expected to reach ready-to-build status in 2025.

HYRO had also entered two projects into the UK Government's second hydrogen allocation support round, with outcomes expected in the autumn.

That followed the success of the Northfleet project in the first round in December last year.

At 1139 BST, shares in Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust were down 1.75% at 73.1p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.