Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust has agreed to acquire a 55 megawatt-peak solar project in West Yorkshire for approximately £34.6 million, including remaining construction costs.
Barnsdale Solar Park, currently under construction near Pontefract, is being acquired from OnPath Energy, one of the UK's leading onshore renewable energy developers, and is expected to generate enough clean electricity to meet the annual needs of around 19,000 homes once operational.
The project has been awarded a government-backed Contract for Difference (CfD), a fixed-price support mechanism linked to the consumer price index (CPI), running until 2041, giving ORIT long-term revenue visibility from the asset.
The acquisition is conditional on the site meeting requirements ahead of the CfD commencement deadline, which the company expects to be satisfied in March 2027.
Construction is being carried out by Goldbeck Solar, which previously built ORIT's Breach solar farm, giving the trust an existing working relationship with the contractor.
Co-fund managers David Bird and Chris Gaydon said the agreed terms were attractive and that Barnsdale was expected to deliver returns consistent with the company's medium- to long-term target of 9% to 11%, as set out under the ORIT 2030 strategy.
Contracted revenues from the project are expected to contribute to dividend cover from the 2027 financial year onwards.
Chair Phil Austin said the deal reflected the selective and disciplined approach to capital allocation underpinning the ORIT 2030 strategy, with the CPI-linked revenues increasing the contracted proportion of the portfolio.
