BlackRock commits $500M to Recurrent Energy, expands renewable power portfolio
BlackRock commits $500M to Recurrent Energy, expands renewable power portfolio | ESG Dive
Dive Brief:
- BlackRock has agreed to pour $500 million into Recurrent Energy, a utility-scale solar and energy storage project developer, for a 20% stake in a bid to expand its renewable energy portfolio. The transaction marks the inaugural investment for BlackRock’s fourth climate infrastructure fund, which the asset manager launched last year.
- The investment will allow Recurrent to grow its project development pipeline and transition into being a developer and long-term owner and operator of assets in markets including the United States and Europe. The company is a subsidiary of Canadian Solar, which will continue to be Recurrent’s majority shareholder.
- Recurrent said it has a development pipeline of 26 gigawatts in solar and 55 gigawatt-hours in storage as of September, and expects to have 4 gigawatts of solar and 2 gigawatt-hours of storage in operation in the U.S. and Europe by 2026.
Dive Insight:
Recurrent said it aims to provide solutions that support a transition to a low-carbon grid while also increasing grid reliability, per its website. The company has several commercial solar and energy storage plants around the globe, including three based in the U.S.: a solar power and storage unit in California, a solar unit in Mississippi and another storage unit in California.
Though the energy developer is based in Austin, Texas, the perimeter of the transaction will span through parts of North America — including the U.S. and Canada — South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa.
BlackRock’s investment will help scale the company in response to “massive global demand for renewable energy and energy storage solutions,” and assist it in its aim to “deliver clean, reliable and affordable power to the world,” Recurrent CEO Ismael Guerrero said in the press release.
“Recurrent Energy is emblematic of our strategy of investing in leading renewable power generation assets and transition-enabling infrastructure,” David Giordano, BlackRock’s global head of climate infrastructure and chief investment officer of transition capital, added in the release.
The investment comes shortly after BlackRock announced it had acquired Global Infrastructure Partners in a deal valued around $12.5 billion this month. The acquisition combines GIP’s energy, transport, water, waste, and digital infrastructure focused portfolio with BlackRock’s $50 billion infrastructure platform.
The nation’s largest asset manager cited “ a movement toward decarbonization and energy security in many parts of the world” as a reason for the deal.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”