Octopus Energy’s generating division has invested in Ocergy, which seeks to lower the cost and accelerate the construction of floating offshore wind farms worldwide.
According to Octopus officials, Ocergy offers an innovative way to create floating foundations, significantly cutting down on the time and expense of construction. With operations in France and a US headquarters, the company is leading the way in the development of a hyper-local supply chain strategy by collaborating with regional producers. It will generate green jobs in the communities where the turbines will be placed. Its lighter and more modular designs enable easier transportation and assembly of the turbine foundations at their ultimate location.
The disruptive green tech company is already collaborating with a number of prominent developers on several gigawatt-scale projects, with plans to lay the first foundations by 2025 or 2026. With Octopus’ funding, Ocergy’s technology will be made more widely available, and its quick growth into other areas will be supported. Additionally, it will allow the expansion of the environmental data monitoring system.
The investment is being made on behalf of Vector, the offshore wind fund that Octopus Energy introduced at the end of the previous year. It is the most recent development in the company’s strategy to accelerate offshore wind deployment worldwide in order to lessen dependency on fossil fuels.
Floating foundations are utilized in regions where the shoreline is too deep for seabed-fixed foundations. Deep seas are home to around 80% of the world’s offshore wind resources, highlighting the excessive, unrealized potential of the technology. It occurs at a time when governments all around the world have set lofty goals for offshore wind that float. By 2030, the UK alone aims to have 5GW of floating offshore wind capacity.