UK utility Octopus Energy will invest almost $1bn in "clean technology" in California, encompassing renewable energy, energy storage and carbon removal projects.
Octopus will purchase a solar and battery project in California, which it expects to start operations by July. The company will also invest in heat batteries, which will allow fossil-fuelled boilers to be swapped for systems powered by renewable energy. This will "fast-track the decarbonisation of hard-to-electrify industries", Octopus said.
Octopus will also provide funding for two Californian carbon removal companies, which aim to restore grassland and use reforestation to convert degraded land into carbon sinks. Technology companies are "already lined up as carbon credit offtakers", Octopus said. It plans to invest $2bn in the US energy transition by 2030.
The UK and California today signed an agreement to boost clean energy investment. The deal's extensive "areas of co-operation" include renewable energy, energy storage, emissions trade, carbon capture and storage, transport decarbonisation and biodiversity.
It also includes climate risk insurance, for extreme weather events. Destructive and widespread wildfires in Los Angeles in January 2025 led to insured losses of $40bn, according to reinsurance firm Swiss Re.
Standing alone, California would be the world's fourth-largest economy. Its Democrat governor Gavin Newsom is a fierce proponent of regulation to tackle climate change.
