BlackRock targets $1.2 billion for New Zealand’s energy transition
BlackRock targets $1.2 billion for New Zealand’s energy transition | Windpower Monthly
Investment giant BlackRock has launched a bid to raise NZD 2 billion ($1.2 billion) to help New Zealand reach its target of having renewables meet 100% of its electricity needs.
BlackRock will look to raise this amount from institutional investors in New Zealand, and then invest in clean energy projects, a spokeswoman explained.
New Zealand – which has abundant hydro and geothermal capacity – sourced about 80% of its electricity from renewables in 2021, according to the International Energy Agency.
Prime minister Chris Hipkins said the fund could help to “create thousands of new, highly-skilled jobs in the process”, and added: “Reducing our carbon emissions is no longer a ‘nice to have’ but an essential part of doing global business.”
Minister Woods claimed that the NZD 2 billion scheme will help to drive further investment from Crown companies – entities set up by the ruling British monarchy to further New Zealand policy objectives – as well as pension funds and private sector funds.
Meanwhile, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink described the fund as the “largest single-country low-carbon transition investment initiative BlackRock has created to date”, and added: “It will enable New Zealand companies to access greater pools of capital to build out climate infrastructure across the country’s energy system including in wind power, solar power, battery storage, electric vehicle charging, and natural capital [natural resources such as soils, air and water] projects. “
New Zealand has 942MW of operational onshore wind capacity, according to Windpower Intelligence, the research and data division of Windpower Monthly.
Developers including Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and BlueFloat Energy have also announced plans for gigawatt-scale offshore wind projects off the coast of New Zealand.
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.”