Specialist clean energy investor Octopus Renewables has won a £185m mandate with the National Grid UK Pension Scheme (NGUKPS) to invest in UK solar and onshore wind assets.
The new corporate pension fund, named Renewable Energy Income Partnership III (REIP III), is the third fund in Octopus Renewables’ institutional investor income partnership strategy in just over two years.
Octopus Renewables, which has discretion in managing the 25-year mandate, is regarded as the largest commercial scale solar energy investor in Europe with over £3.2bn of energy assets under management.
Commenting on the mandate, Alex Brierley, Co-Head of Octopus Renewables, said: “We are delighted to embark on this long-term partnership with the National Grid UK Pension Scheme.”
“With predictable income, diversification and sustainable investment all at the forefront of institutional investors’ minds, this commitment by NGUKPS shows that our Renewable Energy Income Partnership series continues to provide an attractive solution for investor,” Brierley added.
Deniz Sevincer, co-head of institutional funds at Octopus, said: “We recognise that each institutional fund mandate is unique. Our scale, experience and origination capability puts us in the unrivalled position to provide the flexibility needed to create a bespoke offering that matches the National Grid UK Pension Scheme’s objectives.”
Octopus entered the renewables market in 2010, rebranding from Octopus Energy Investments in 2019.
The company has continued to expand, with new investments in Australia, Finland, France and Italy.
Last year the company commissioned a study which found that investors still had difficulty in understanding some of the specific issues relating to the renewables market, which could make them hesitant to deploy capital.
These issues included energy price uncertainty, liquidity issues and operating / execution costs.
