Octopus Energy and Masdar unite to power UK and Africa

UK renewables developer Octopus Energy has signed two memoranda of understanding with clean energy company Masdar for initiatives based in the UK and Africa. 

Within the UK context, the partners will look to address the current challenge of a lack of grid capacity, which is keeping projects in a connection queue for years in some instances.

They say this urgently needs to be addressed, as power-hungry data centres are expected to drive demand significantly in the coming years.

To attempt to combat this, Octopus Energy and Masdar will identify portions of available capacity on the distribution network and design energy systems around them. These systems will include solar, batteries and flexible grid connections, allowing data centres to access the power needed without delay.

The systems will be powered by Kraken technology, which will balance on-site generation to ensure a secure supply, while decreasing costs by shifting consumption to cheaper periods.

The Africa-focused agreement aims to scale clean energy for the benefit of commercial and industrial users. The collaboration, which will initially being in South Africa, will see distributed energy and local grids deployed to support job creation and industrial growth in the region.

Have you read?
AI delivers tangible progress in decarbonisation in UK report finds
Meeting the moment: How utilities can handle the AI energy surge

“This is about delivering projects that make energy cheaper, cleaner, and unlock real opportunities for businesses and industry,” said chief executive of Octopus Energy, Greg Jackson.

The sentiment was echoed by Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, his Masdar counterpart: “Through these agreements, we continue to reimagine the potential of renewables in the AI era, while also bringing much-needed clean energy to communities and businesses across Africa.”

Octopus Energy is looking to scale renewables across the African continent. In November last year, the company’s generation arm joined the European Commission, the Republic of South Africa and Global Citizen’s Scaling Up Renewables in Africa campaign – a pioneering and coordinated effort to expand renewable energy and grid infrastructure across Africa.

The Scaling Up Renewables in Africa campaign has raised $17.8 billion in public and private sector contributions, with Octopus leveraging its Power Africa Initiative to catalyse and contribute $450 million.

According to Octopus Energy, Africa sees only 2% of global renewables investment despite having 60% of the world’s solar potential, something its Power Africa Initiative will be looking to address.

Masdar, which will be supporting the Power Africa Initiative, is already active on the continent through its Infinity Power joint venture. The venture has an operational portfolio of 1.3GW across Egypt, South Africa and Senegal and is targeting 10GW of capacity by 2030.