Octopus Energy steps in to save Netherlands with wind farms after Putin choked supplies

Economist explains why Germany is still using Russian gas

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On 31st May, the Russian state energy behemoth Gazprom halted gas supplies flowing into the Netherlands by turning off the taps to a major Dutch trader Gasterra. This happened GasTerra refused to pay for the Kremlin’s gas in rubles. The Russian President had told “unfriendly countries” that they needed to pay for Russian gas in rubles by March 31 or else face a supply cut.

Now, to help boost Dutch power supplies, Octopus Energy has decided to expand into Netherlands with a major investment in wind energy to replace Russian gas.

The British energy company has acquired the Borssele V offshore wind farm, operated by Eneco.

The farm consists of two large, 180-metre-tall Vestas wind turbines located in the Dutch North Sea and generates enough electricity to power 25,000 homes a year

These turbines are part of the Borssele wind farm zone which is made up of five wind farms with a combined total capacity of 1.5 GW.

Zoisa North-Bond, CEO of Octopus Energy Generation, comments: “We’re expanding green power across Europe and over the next decade we see ourselves rapidly accelerating our investments in renewables.

“It’s brilliant to have entered the Dutch renewables market so soon after our first wind energy deal in Germany.

“The Netherlands is on the path out of fossil fuels and we’re here to help on this mission.

“We started making a splash in offshore wind this year, and we’ve already got a lot more in the pipeline.”

As Putin cuts gas supplies to more EU nations for failing to bow down to his demands, the bloc is scrambling to find ways to end its reliance on Russian energy.

As Russia is responsible for 40 percent of the EU’s gas imports, the bloc is desperately searching for alternative sources, as mentioned in its REPowerEU strategy, which lays out how it will phase out Russian oil and gas by 2027.

Matt Setchell, Co-Head of Octopus Energy Generation’s fund management team said: “Offshore wind is a critical part of the energy transition and it’s also an increasingly important part of what we will be doing as a fund management business.

“We’ll be bringing investors access to many more of these types of opportunities over the coming months and years as we continue to grow our specialist team around the world to deliver this.”

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Aside from boosting wind energy in the North Sea, the Dutch Government also announced that together with Germany, the two countries will begin producing their own gas in the North Sea.

A gas pipeline is being built to carry the gas onto the shore, while permits for the Dutch to start drilling were issued by State Secretary Johannes Alexander Vijlbrief on Wednesday.

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