North American investor Northleaf Capital Partners has directed infrastructure funds it manages into a new renewables platform.
Madison Street Renewables (MSR) has been set up to acquire lease income streams generated by renewable power projects across the US.
MSR plans to invest $150m in equity investments through 2025.
“The formation of MSR aims to provide Northleaf investors with access to long-term reliable revenue streams from a diversified portfolio of renewable power projects while simultaneously giving project landowners the ability to secure immediate upfront payment of their lease compensation,” said Olivier Laganière, Managing Director, Infrastructure and Head of Northleaf’s Los Angeles office.
MSR was formed through the acquisition of 100% of the assets and intellectual property of a wholly owned entity established in 2020 by Peter Harsy.
Harsy said MSR provides solar project developers with the ability to minimise project budgets by acquiring their target project land sites (in situations where the current owner is only willing to sell and not willing to lease).
Once it has acquired ownership of the land, MSR leases the land to the project developer/owner which allows them to avoid using large amounts of their project budgets on acquiring real estate.
Harsy previously spent several years as General Counsel and Board Secretary of Lincoln Clean Energy (now Ørsted Onshore), where he gained “extensive first-hand experience” working with project landowners on leasing matters.
As the newly appointed CEO of MSR Harsy said, “I am thrilled about this opportunity to work with Northleaf and focus on building the MSR platform.
“Our shared enthusiasm and outlook with respect to the future of this business is a great match and I am excited to execute on this tremendous market opportunity.”
Northleaf’s $5bn infrastructure program targets direct, long-term investments in mid-market assets that deliver essential services in select OECD countries.