Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP) has established a new, UK-based platform Renewable Power Capital (RPC).
Backed by CPP’s multi-billion power & renewables investment strategy, the platform will invest in solar, onshore wind and battery storage, among other technologies, across Europe.
The business will be a majority-owned, but independently operated portfolio company.
RPC is headed up by Bob Psaradellis, formerly of GE Energy Financial Services, where he successfully closed equity investments in energy assets with over €5bn in enterprise value.
The platform’s new chief executive also raised over $14bn in third-party equity and debt for GE’s power, renewables, oil & gas, aviation and healthcare projects globally.
The business is chaired by Shaun Kingsbury, former chief executive of the UK Green Investment Bank.
Kingsbury led the Bank from formation with backing from the UK Government to become the largest renewable energy investor in the UK and ultimately on to a successful privatisation in 2017.
CPP Investments’ managing director and head of power & renewables Bruce Hogg said: “The establishment of RPC brings together our long-term, flexible capital and a management team with a depth of expertise and sophisticated understanding of the European renewable energy market.
“The business is well-positioned to create value through enhancing routes to market, driving more efficient commercialization strategies and making improvements to assets’ capital structures as many European renewables markets transition towards a subsidy-free regime.”
RPC will seek to enable the energy transition through a patient, long-term investment strategy underpinned by an innovative approach to managing development and merchant risk and the development of holistic capabilities to create long-term value through owning and operating renewable energy assets.
The management team includes Mark Hanson as general counsel & chief operating officer, Mariano Berges as chief commercial officer, Steve Hunter as director of power markets and Daniel Szentirmai as principal.
RPC will build a scalable and diversified pan-European platform, initially targeting development, ready-to-build, and operating assets.
The platform is expected to have capabilities across different power markets, and across the value chain from development, through construction and into operations.
Psaradellis said: “Our new platform is open to investments, initially in the Nordics and Spain, and expanding to other European jurisdictions thereafter.
“Drawing on our deep expertise in the sector, we can work together in partnership with developers, wind and solar equipment manufacturers, construction companies, and investment partners as the market continues to mature and addresses long-term structural change.
“We have a well-developed pipeline of opportunities and expect to make our first investment in early 2021.”
The platform will have access to flexible capital from CPP Investments allowing it to structure investments that recognise the changing market dynamics in Europe and range of risk-adjusted returns available.
CPP Investments has made approximately C$9 billion (€5.72bn) of equity commitments to renewable energy globally as of 30 September 2020, with investments in development and operational assets across onshore wind, offshore wind, solar, hydro and associated storage and distribution.
The renewable energy investment strategy has approximately 4.5GW of operating assets in Brazil, Canada, Germany, Japan and the USA, with investment professionals in Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, New York and Toronto.