Existing investors include pension funds, Australia’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation, private banks and wealth managers. Plus, UK’s Smart Pension invests in Octopus Energy Generation.
The Dulacca Wind Farm in Queensland, which opened in late 2023, is part of Octopus Australia’s $11bn operating and development portfolio across wind, solar and battery storage | Octopus Australia.
The asset management arm of APG, the largest Dutch pension services provide, has said it will invest more than A$1bn (€560m) in renewable energy fund manager and developer Octopus Australia’s OASIS platform to accelerate the development of utility-scale solar, wind, and battery storage projects in the country.
APG joins existing investors in the funding platform, which include Australian pension funds Rest and Hostplus, international pension funds, and the Australian government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation, along with private banks and wealth managers. Octopus Australia has an operating and development portfolio of over A$11bn across wind, solar and battery storage.
The Dutch investor said it had chosen to partner with Octopus Australia because of its integrated development model and ability to progress shared impact, climate, and long-term value-creation goals, while generating value for investors for decades to come.
“We are looking forward to deepening our collaboration with Octopus Australia as we meet substantial demand for high-quality renewable energy infrastructure in key markets like Australia and support the wider energy transition needed across the world’s highest emissions regions,” Hans-Martin Aerts, APG’s head of infrastructure and private natural capital for Asia Pacific, said.
APG manages some €590bn in pension assets for 4.6m participants, including Dutch pension fund ABP.
Octopus said it expects the partnership with APG to be a multi-billion dollar, multiyear relationship. Sam Reynolds, Octopus Australia’s CEO, said it would be transformational for both businesses and the broader Australian energy landscape.
“To be chosen as the local partner by a global investor of APG’s calibre is a powerful endorsement of our strategy and team and is a reflection of Australia’s position as a leading destination for long-term, sustainable infrastructure investment,” Reynolds said.
Octopus said it plans to use the new funding from APG to develop its Blind Creek 300-megawatt solar farm, which also includes a 500 megawatt-hour battery project. Construction is due to start on the site near Bungendore, New South Wales in October. Some of the funding will also go to the 1 gigawatt-hour Blackstone battery project near Brisbane in Queensland.
Octopus Australia is part of the UK-based Octopus Group, which includes institutional asset manager, Octopus Capital.
Lieven Debruyne, Octopus Capital’s CEO, said Octopus Australia’s mission supports institutional investors in delivering strong, risk-adjusted returns for their clients, while helping the global energy transition.
“This landmark investment shows us that there is significant appetite for channelling private capital into creating meaningful impact in addition to delivering long-term financial performance,” he said.
Octopus said Australia needed some £250bn to fund its energy projects over the next 10 years as it moves away from its reliance on fossil fuels. Renewable energy accounted for 40% of Australia’s electricity generation in 2024, with wind (13.4% of total power generation), rooftop solar (12.4%) and medium and large-scale solar (7.2%) being the largest contributors, according to Australia’s Clean Energy Council.
Some 59 large-scale generation projects were under construction at the end of the year, up from 56 the previous year. However, generating capacity added in 2024 totalling 5.2 gigawatts represented a decline from the 5.9GW added in 2023.
UK’s Smart Pension invests in Octopus Energy Generation
Meanwhile, in the UK, Smart Pension, a defined contribution pension scheme, said it would invest £330m (€382m) in two funds managed by the Octopus Group’s Octopus Energy Generation.
The investment will make up 5% of Smart Pension’s default fund and will be used to finance wind farms through Octopus’s £1.5bn Sky fund, as well as other projects, including ground-source heat pumps, through the Octopus Energy Transition fund.
Smart Pension, which was launched in 2015, now has more than £7bn in assets under management and serves over 1.5 million members and more than 90,000 employers.
The Octopus investments are part of a 15% allocation commitment by Smart Pension to private markets within its default fund. Smart Pension said they reinforced its commitment to long-term sustainable investment while helping the UK to accelerate the transition to a net-zero economy.
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