In 2003, Eric Scotto and Patrice Lucas combined their talents to found the company Perfect Wind. With the construction of their first 57 MW wind farm in 2004, Perfect Wind already accounted for a third of the French market at the time and ranked among the future leaders in renewable energy right from the start. In 2006, they sold Perfect Wind France to Iberdrola while retaining the subsidiaries in Turkey and Poland.

After this first experience, the two co-founders Éric Scotto and Patrice Lucas teamed up to create Akuo. Their idea was clear: “Today, we have a duty to take action to leave a better world for our children. In this respect, renewable energies have incredible potential for development in France and throughout the world.”

With a true vision and firm beliefs, these two pioneers of renewable energy founded Akuo in 2007.

A forerunner when it comes to innovation, Akuo launched a new concept, agrivoltaics, in response to the necessary energy transition and the need to initiate the agricultural transition.

Reunion Island was chosen for this innovation, as it had only a small agricultural surface area and could not afford to devote it solely to generating electricity. Combining farming and a solar power plant was the ideal solution: a solution that promotes organic crops and local know-how while producing green power.

Given the company’s rapid growth, the co-founders decided to create a vehicle dedicated to structuring the equity of the project companies (SPV) operated by Akuo. They knew that the company’s success would also require full command of the financial tools available in a very capital-intensive industry.

In 2008, Akuo commissioned the first part of the company’s first solar power plant to use SunStyle® solar tiles, at Saint Charles International logistics hub in Perpignan: with its 9 MW

capacity and 68,000 m2 (732,000 sq ft) of tiles, this achievement by Akuo (completed in 2011) became a world-class example of building-integrated solar power generation. By opting for solar roofs, which are not only efficient but also much more elegant, the logistics site meets the energy needs of more than 2,000 homes.

Akuo opened its first office abroad, in Poland.

The same year, Akuo innovated with the issue of the first listed bond in France dedicated to the Renewable Energy sector (euroPP).

Under the aegis of the Fondation de Luxembourg, the Akuo Foundation undertakes and supports non-profit, sustainable development projects, by giving its partners the possibility of engaging with it to help the underprivileged and protect the environment worldwide.

FLORIDA 1 was the Akuo Group’s first wind project. With a capacity of 50 MW, it marked Akuo’s first steps in Latin America.

In 2014, Akuo became a pioneer in energy storage, commissioning the first four solar power plants on Reunion Island and Corsica combined with 29 MWh of storage capacity. Whatever the weather conditions, these plants allow for stable and continuous injection of electricity into the islands’ grid, where more than 35% is now of renewable origin.

The Ogorje wind farm was Akuo’s first wind farm to start operating in Central Europe, in the Split region of Croatia. This truly European project involved more than 500 people of eight different nationalities: Croatian, French, Slovenian, Bosnian, German, Austrian, Greek and Danish.

In parallel to its commissioning in December 2015, a local office was created for the maintenance of the project, in addition to Akuo Croatia’s headquarters in Zagreb, which manages the Group’s development in the Balkans.

Cyril Dion and Mélanie Laurent released their documentary DEMAIN, spotlighting Akuo’s achievements in agrivoltaics on Reunion Island.

Akuo signed a Power Purchase Agreement with Western Farmers Electric Cooperative for its 30 MW Sterling wind farm in New Mexico (USA).

In addition to financing, building and operating power plants, Akuo began selling its 100% green energy on the market in 2016: the three hydropower plants in Bulgaria were the first to join this new field of expertise.

Akuo launched AkuoCoop, a crowdfunding platform that allows citizens and businesses to invest in renewable energy production assets while benefiting from the expertise and know-how of Akuo’s teams.

Aquanergie installations, consisting of shade houses with semi-photovoltaic roofing built over fish-rearing ponds, have several advantages, which were first showcased through the Les Cèdres project on Reunion Island.

In October 2017, Akuo launched the construction of a 50 MWp solar power plant in Mali. Located approximately 200 km west of Bamako, it is the largest solar farm in operation in West Africa.

Akuo began construction of the O’MEGA1 project in Piolenc (Vaucluse, south-east France): with a capacity of 17 MWp, it was the first floating solar plant in France and the most powerful in Europe. A 5 MWp extension will be commissioned on the site in 2022.

MAIF, a militant insurance company, and Akuo set up a fund with the ambition of financing a project in each of the French counties, both in mainland France and in the French overseas territories. The fund is designed for all agricultural sectors and aims to foster the emergence of innovative projects, methods and know-how in the multi-use of land.

Akuo commissioned its first wind farm in the Dominican Republic. This 50 MW power plant significantly contributes to the country’s energy transition and has become a model for the whole Caribbean region.

Akuo deployed the first agrivoltaic greenhouses in the Pacific. This innovative system combines market gardening and solar power generation. The farm produces 2 GWh of electricity per year, equivalent to the consumption of 600 homes, and approximately 200 tons of market garden produce.

Akuo commissioned a 132 MW power plant in Poland, another 93 MW plant in the USA, and a 19 MWh storage facility on Martinique.

Arnaud Leroy, CEO of the French Agency for the Environment and Energy Management (ADEME), and Eric Scotto, together with their respective teams, wrote the book “Renewable Energy for Dummies” published by Editions First.

Akuo consolidated its strategy to speed up operations with the help of ICG Infra, the infrastructure fund of asset manager ICG.

In 2022, in partnership with Tonga Power Limited, the public grid operator in Tonga, Akuo commissioned the largest energy storage project in the South Pacific. It is the region’s largest storage facility, with a total capacity of 29.2 MWh / 16.5 MW.

Akuo installed a 336 MW wind farm: this power plant is a milestone for the Akuo Group, which is the first to install and operate the Vestas V162 next-generation wind turbines. They measure 119 meters and are the biggest turbines currently installed in the USA.

Building on the success of its previous crowdfunding campaigns, AkuoCoop, the Group’s crowdfunding platform, is launching a new campaign “Akuo Militant 2024”. In less than three months, Akuocoop raises over 1.8 million Euros