Octopus Energy Generation, one of Europe’s largest specialist renewables investors, is making a Europe-wide push into the wind energy market, acquiring 321 MW onshore wind farms across 17 sites.

Its fund management team has invested €584 million in wind farms in France, Germany and Poland, on behalf of the Sky fund (ORI SCSp) it manages, accelerating homegrown power across key European markets. These wind farms will generate enough clean power for over 250 000 homes.

Octopus now manages over 400 large scale renewables projects across the globe, as it continues to scale cheap, green power at lightning speed. With these latest deals, it manages 67 onshore wind farms in Europe, including the UK, France, Germany, Poland, Ireland, Sweden, and Finland.

This comes as power generated from onshore wind continues to fall as one of the cheapest sources of energy. It already plays a significant role in Europe’s energy system, with 265 GW of onshore wind installed – including 17 GW last year alone.

Octopus has acquired 143.5 MW of wind farms in France – its largest renewables market in continental Europe. These wind farms are a mix of operational and construction stages and, once fully built, will generate a steady flow of green electricity for around 65 000 French homes every year.

They are located across 10 sites in Hauts-de-France, Grand Est, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Brittany, Centre-Val de Loire, and Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

Octopus has also acquired four wind farms with 102.5 MW in capacity across Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Hesse, and Baden-Württemberg. Two are already up and running, generating clean power today, while the remaining two are under construction.

Together, these projects generate clean power for 71 000 German homes annually. Octopus has now made its 15th deal in Germany since entering the market a few years ago.

In addition, Octopus acquired three operational wind farms with a combined capacity of 75 MW in the windy north of Poland. These generate enough clean energy to power 120 000 Polish homes a year.

The deal also includes access to a pipeline of new renewable projects in development, strengthening Octopus’ long-term position in the market, as the country accelerates its shift away from coal towards a cleaner and more diverse energy mix.

Zoisa North-Bond, CEO at Octopus Energy Generation, said: “Europe has one of the greatest wind resources in the world. With major ambitions to build more wind farms, we’re still only scratching the surface of what’s possible. We now need to move even faster if we’re going to unlock untapped wind power potential and meet Europe’s clean energy needs.

“From France to Germany and Poland, these latest projects are part of a wider shift away from polluting fossil fuels and towards homegrown, affordable, clean power.

“Amid volatile gas prices and rising geopolitical risk from wars in recent years, countries are quite rightly turning to clean energy. Decentralised renewables like onshore wind offer a faster and more secure path to energy independence and security.”