Exagen Group, a significant player in the UK solar and energy storage sector, has received a full buyout from British energy titan Octopus Energy Generation.
The 100% equity buyout, which was carried out on behalf of the Octopus Energy Development Partnership (OEDP) fund, managed by Octopus, follows an August 2022 investment by Octopus in exchange for a 24% stake in the business.
Octopus Energy Generation will now have full ownership of Exagen’s development pipeline, which consists of over 2.4GW of solar energy and battery energy storage system (BESS) projects across England. These projects will add to Octopus Energy Generation’s gargantuan portfolio, which consists of 3.7GW of combined generation capacity across various generation types, and is valued at around £6.7 billion.
Jeremy Littman, CEO and founder of Exagen Group, commented: “I founded Exagen to deliver and manage a robust pipeline of UK renewable energy projects with the mission of fighting climate change. Having built a talented team to drive this vision forward at pace, I am proud to pass the baton to Octopus, who will continue to deliver projects and expand the platform to new heights.”
“The initial investment from Octopus provided the foundation for Exagen’s success. With this buyout, Octopus is now positioned to further advance our mission of meeting the UK’s renewable energy targets by 2035.”
Alex Brierley, co-head of Octopus Energy Generation’s fund management team, added: “We first invested in Exagen two years ago and we’ve been impressed by their strong pipeline of solar and storage projects in development that will help boost British energy security. By increasing our investment, we’re going to turbocharge the build-out of new green energy and rapidly grow the UK’s energy storage capacity.”
Exagen, Octopus, and the BESS market
Exagen has been working to make its mark on the UK BESS sector, having secured planning permission for two significant projects so far this year.
In April, Tewkesbury Borough Council granted planning permission for Exagen’s 20MW/40MWh Brockworth Road Energy Reserve project to be located within the Cheltenham and Gloucester Green Belt. In January, Exagen was approved to develop one of the UK’s largest BESS developments, a 500MW/1GWh Leicestershire based project named the Normanton Energy Reserve BESS. Exagen has said they plan to commission this project in 2029 and operate it for 40 years after.
Meanwhile, Octopus has been increasing its presence in the BESS sector too, having recently signed a two-year fixed-price tolling agreement with Gresham House Energy Storage Fund. The wider energy industry has seen the impact of this landmark deal, with Gresham House telling our sister publication Energy Storage News that the agreement “woke up the wider market to the possibility of this being an option […] it’s not only for large suppliers.”