Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust has completed the acquisition of a portfolio of solar farms in England totalling almost 123MW.

The trust paid £144.3m for the eight operational projects, which all qualify for the Renewable Obligation Certificate regime.

The assets started operations between 2013 and 2015 and currently have an average remaining life of 23.5 years, Octopus said.

It added that the purchase fee may be increased by up to £5.4m contingent on securing extensions to the current lease periods.

The projects range in size from the 3.53MW Penhale facility in Cornwall to the 32.45MW Ermine plant in Lincolnshire.

Other developments in the portfolio are the 24.67MW Abbots, 19.32MW Mingay and 11.44MW Wiggin Hill in Cambridgeshire, as well as the 12.98MW Westerfield in Oxfordshire, 12.34MW Chisbon in Essex and 6.07MW Ottringham in Yorkshire.

Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust chairman Phil Austin said: “I am delighted to announce the acquisition of this portfolio of ROC subsidised UK solar farms.

“This investment marks a significant step towards building a diversified portfolio of renewable energy assets aimed at reducing the impacts of climate change.

“This particular investment is expected to produce enough electricity each year to service the equivalent of 38,000 UK homes.”

Octopus Renewables investment director Chris Gaydon said: “Following on from the acquisition of the Ljungbyholm wind farm which we announced on 10 March 2020, we are pleased to announce our second acquisition on behalf of Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust.

“As per our strategy of acquiring a diversified portfolio of assets, this gives us exposure to the UK market and the solar industry. We have now deployed 59% of the funds raised at IPO.

“As part of our ongoing process, we have assessed the possible impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the company's assets and pipeline and at present we do not expect there to be any material impact on asset performance or deployment of the balance of the IPO proceeds.

“For our construction projects, such as the Ljungbyholm wind farm, we are in close contact with our partners and have made allowances for construction delays in our investment case, in addition to other commercial protections implemented specifically with Covid-19 in mind. We will continue to keep the situation under review.

“We continue to see significant opportunities for further acquisitions and we look forward to updating shareholders with our progress.”