5 Years of the Octopus Fan Club
Five years on, we’re still turning wind energy into real benefits for local communities.
Back in January 2021, we launched the world’s first electricity product that gives customers cheaper power when their local wind turbine is spinning. By matching smart meter data with live turbine output, we’re able to turn local generation into real-time rewards - giving communities a direct benefit from the energy produced on their doorstep.
Since then, Fan Club has grown a lot. We’ve launched new clubs across the UK, made some serious upgrades to the tech behind the scenes, and spent plenty of time getting stuck into local communities along the way.
And people seem to like it. A lot. Tens of thousands of people have now asked for a Fan Club turbine near them - and we’re working hard to help make that happen.
So, while we do that, let’s take a look back at what Fan Club’s been up to over the last five years.
5 years of Fan Club in numbers
In the last five years, we’ve launched 4 Fan Clubs across the UK (including one offshore), and over 43,000 people have asked for a Fan Club turbine in their community. And we’re not just in the UK - our friends in the USA, France, and Germany have launched their own versions too.
Fan 1 & Fan 2 have been powering your discounts from the very beginning. Since January 2021, together, they’ve generated over 12.5 million kWh of renewable electricity.
Let’s put that into perspective.
With that amount of energy, you could charge your smartphone over 1 billion times, drive your EV around the earth 1,300+ times or boil over 150 billion kettles of water (that’s enough tea to fill the entire ocean). All that clean power has helped avoid 9,000+ tonnes of CO₂, which is the same impact as planting around 150,000 trees.
Not bad for a couple of turbines.
Using energy when it's cheapest and greenest
We built a simple dashboard that lets Fan Club members see their Fan in real time, straight from their Octopus Energy account. They can check their live discount and see exactly what their local Fan is up to - helping them feel genuinely connected to (and a little bit proud of) their very own Fan.
Then we went one step further. In November 2023, we added forecast data, so members can see what we expect their Fan to be doing up to 48 hours in advance. And to make it even easier, in March 2024 we launched push notifications that give members a nudge each morning when there’s a potential 50% discount on the way. That means members can plan ahead, shift their energy use when it really counts, and make the most of their discounts - all while feeling even more connected to where their energy comes from.
Read more about the Fan Club dashboard and push notifications.
Hear what Fan Club members have to say
We’re always banging on about how brilliant the Fan Club is, but why not hear it from the people who actually use it? We asked Fan Club members to send their birthday messages to Fan Club - and they delivered. Here are some of our favourites.
“Congratulations on your 5th birthday, what a great achievement. It's is a brilliant idea and I'm delighted to be a member. Keep up the good work, it's making a real difference! Together we can help the planet to be a greener and better place.”
"Happy 5th Birthday to the wonderful Fan Club! Being part of this community has changed the way I think about energy. It makes renewable energy feel personal. Here’s to many more years of blowing us away (ha ha!) with greener power!"
"Happy Birthday Fan Club! We love Octopus Fan Club, it’s our opportunity to save a few extra pounds whilst supporting the use of renewable energy that’s local to us! "
"Happy 5th birthday! I really value being part of the Fan Club because it genuinely feels like a community rather than just an energy product. Thanks for five great years, and here’s to many more."
Check out some of our other chats with members below!
Members take a boat trip to see the turbines powering their electricity savings.
Competition winner Sacha wins the chance to climb to the top of Fan 2.
Members talk discounts, windy days and what its like having renewables in their community.
We're a part of the community
Fan Club has always been about more than just energy discounts. From tree planting and energy workshops to getting involved in local community activities, we make sure we’re a consistent part of the community. Community is at our core, and we’re all about building more renewables with communities, not just in them.
Take a look at a few of our engagement activities of the last 5 years below.
We took to the fields of Cefn Bach Farm to plant some trees with Fan Club members.
We sponsored Market Weighton Minis & spent some time with some of our smallest 'fans'.
Take a look at when we attended the 65th annual Halifax Charity Gala, home to our Fan Club No.3.
Coming up next for Fan Club
We want to build more wind power in the places that actually want it. With tens of thousands of people signed up to Fan Club, we can bring together communities who are excited about local generation with landowners who can host renewables - through our Plots for Kilowatts initiative. By doing that, we can build more clean, green energy faster, and in a way that’s fairer for everyone.
With planning moving forward and a repowering project in the works, we’re busy bringing even more Fan Clubs to communities across the UK.
Want to show your support for local renewables? You can sign up to the Octopus Fan Club by clicking the button below.
Let’s build a cheaper, greener future - together.
Join the Fan Club today to show your support for local renewables.
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