Octopus Renewables has acquired a 9.1MW portfolio of residential rooftop solar panels as part of the £185 million Renewable Energy Income Partnership III (REIP III).
National Grid gave Octopus a mandate in January this year to invest up to that amount from its corporate pension scheme for the UK over the next 25 years.
The newly acquired solar assets cover more than 2,700 rooftops situated across the UK, with a significant proportion concentrated in Manchester and Birmingham. Octopus says it will provide the equivalent CO2 saving of removing close to 8,000 petrol or diesel cars from the road.
The deal is the second deployment from REIP III, following the recent acquisition of two UK onshore wind farms with a combined capacity of 16.8MW.
The two wind farms, located in South Lanarkshire and Northamptonshire, provide the equivalent energy to power more than 17,000 UK homes, or the equivalent saving of CO2 to removing close to 50,000 petrol or diesel cars from the road.
Peter Dias, investment director at Octopus Renewables, said: “This acquisition is an exciting step for the team and great addition to the sizable commercial rooftop solar portfolio that we currently manage across the UK and in France.
“Given our established track record in the UK solar market, this was a logical next step as we build on our leading position in the European solar market and look to further expand our activity in solar rooftops.”