Octopus Energy has agreed to buy 10 MW of rooftop solar in France from ELECO. That is small by Octopus standards. It is also spread across 100 separate projects on farm buildings. The more interesting part of the deal is what comes next: a plan to build new farm sheds, cover them in panels, and hand farmers the space underneath.
Key takeaways
- Octopus Energy announced on 24 July 2024 that it had signed an agreement to acquire a 10 MW rooftop solar portfolio in France from ELECO, on behalf of its Sky fund (ORI SCSp), for an undisclosed price.
- The ELECO portfolio acquired by Octopus Energy is the Sungen 10 programme, launched on 5 May 2024, and consists of 100 rooftop solar projects on farms in France.
- Octopus Energy and ELECO aim to develop up to 100 MW of new rooftop solar capacity in France by 2030 by building large sheds with solar panels on farmers' land, giving farmers free storage space.
- The ELECO acquisition forms part of Octopus Energy's goal to invest $1 billion in France's renewable energy market by 2025.
- The Octopus and ELECO deal was the smallest of eight French solar M&A transactions Enerdatics records for 2024, and only one of the eight carries a disclosed value.
How does a 10 MW deal fit a $1 billion plan?
As a template more than as capacity. Octopus has set itself a target of putting $1 billion into French renewables by 2025. Ten megawatts of rooftop solar does not move that number much. What it buys is a working model, a local partner and a plan for up to 100 MW of new capacity by 2030.
The portfolio itself is a programme called Sungen 10, which ELECO launched in early May 2024. Octopus signed to acquire it less than three months later. Spread across 100 projects, the average installation is about 100 kW. That is the scale of a large barn roof, not a solar farm.
The contrast with the rest of Octopus' solar book is sharp. Octopus' Schiebsdorf solar farm in Brandenburg, the largest solar farm in its portfolio, has agreed to supply ten years of power to the steelmaker Salzgitter under a single contract with Salzgitter. One large site and one large buyer is a very different business from a hundred farm roofs.
Why would a farmer want a solar shed?
Because the shed is the payment. Under the plan, Octopus' generation arm will work with ELECO and local partners to build large sheds on farmers' land with solar panels on the roofs. The farmer gets covered storage space for free. Octopus gets a roof to put panels on without taking a field out of use.
The arrangement keeps the panels off the ground. They sit above a working building rather than on a field, so the farmland underneath stays in use. And the landowner receives something tangible in return, a building, rather than only a rent payment.
The same farm-shed idea has drawn other buyers in France. Altarea bought Prejeance Industrial from Repsol, a developer that puts small solar arrays on farm sheds and commercial roofs. Voltalia, through its subsidiary Helexia, acquired a 28 MW portfolio of agricultural photovoltaic hangars in October 2024. Three 2024 deals now point to rooftop solar on agricultural buildings as a distinct niche within French solar.
Where does France sit in Octopus' rooftop strategy?
It is the latest in a run of small-site solar moves across Europe. Enerdatics records Octopus buying a 3.7 MW rooftop bundle in the UK from Innova Renewables in 2021 and acquiring Zestec Renewable Energy, a UK solar developer, in December 2022. In October 2023 it took a majority stake in Verde Energy Group, an Irish commercial and industrial solar specialist that plans to develop more than 50 solar projects totalling 100 MW by 2027. In Portugal, Octopus set up a joint venture, SparkWave Energy, with local entrepreneurs to build more than 50 projects totalling 150 MW by 2027.
The pattern is consistent. Octopus pairs with a local developer, funds a programme of small projects, and targets a round number of megawatts several years out. France now follows the same shape, with 100 MW targeted by 2030. The money behind it comes through the Sky fund that Octopus manages. Octopus Energy Group raises capital for itself separately, as it did with the $800 million Octopus Energy raised from existing investors in December 2023.
Enerdatics records eight French solar M&A transactions announced in 2024. The Octopus and ELECO deal, at 10 MW, is the smallest of them by capacity. Only one of the eight discloses a value: Altarea's $150.7 million purchase of Prejeance Industrial from Repsol. The other seven, including Octopus and ELECO, BNP Paribas and Mirova's majority stake in Arkolia and Trina Solar's 57 MW purchase from Emeren, carry no disclosed price. Three of the eight involved operational assets, and all three were rooftop or building-mounted portfolios with at least part of the capacity on farm buildings.
What does the deal signal for French solar?
It signals that capital is going small in French solar as well as large. Developer platforms and larger project portfolios make up most of the 2024 deal list. Alongside them, buyers are assembling portfolios of hundreds of kilowatt-scale sites on agricultural buildings, where the host farmer has a direct reason to say yes.
It also signals how hard these deals are to price from the outside. With one disclosed value across eight French solar transactions in 2024, there is no public reference point for what a farm rooftop programme is worth per megawatt. The value sits in the pipeline and in the relationships with farmers, neither of which shows up in a capacity figure.
The open question is execution. Building up to 100 MW of new rooftop capacity on farm sheds by 2030 means as many as 1,000 more installations at Sungen 10's average size of about 100 kW. That is a construction programme as much as an investment, and it depends on Octopus and ELECO keeping the shed offer attractive enough to sign farmers one at a time.
Frequently asked questions
What did Octopus Energy buy from ELECO? Octopus agreed to acquire the Sungen 10 programme, a 10 MW portfolio of 100 rooftop solar projects on farms in France, on behalf of its Sky fund. The price was not disclosed.
What is the farm shed model? Octopus' generation arm, ELECO and local partners will build large sheds on farmers' land with solar panels on the roofs. The farmers receive the storage space free of charge.
How much rooftop solar do Octopus and ELECO plan to build? The partners aim to develop up to 100 MW of new rooftop solar capacity in France by 2030.
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