Macquarie raises $1.94 billion for renewable energy fund

Bloomberg

Macquarie Group Ltd’s green investment arm raised 1.6 billion euros ($1.94 billion) for a renewable energy fund.
The company’s Green Investment Group Renewable Energy Fund 2 closed after exceeding its target of 1 billion euros and received commitments from
32 pension funds and insurers from largely the UK and Germany, as well as from some sovereign wealth funds, according to a statement.
Renewables and the green transition has been identified as one of the biggest areas for global economic growth. Everyone from niche technology companies to energy majors are stepping into the field, as countries around the world pledge to reach net-zero.
“It is vital we take action to accelerate the shift to clean
energy, building on the opportunities presented by rapid
technological change, falling technology costs and strong political and regulatory support,” said Leigh Harrison, head of Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets EMEA.
MGREF2 is a 25-year closed-end fund which will invest in wind and solar projects in western Europe, the US, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand.
Earlier this month, Macquarie’s Green Investment Group started a solar energy firm in Europe that followed on the heels of two similar launches in North America and Asia-Pacific.
A global pipeline of more than 20 gigawatts of solar energy projects are managed across the three companies.
So far the MGREF2 fund has made two investments, a 10% stake in the 576-megawatt Gwynt y Mor offshore wind farm in the UK and a 50% stake in a 268-megawatt portfolio of residential rooftop solar projects in the US.
The fund follows the MGREF1, an operational offshore wind fund with investments in 1,450 megawatts of offshore wind around the
UK. The fund has been managed by Macquarie since its acquisition of GIG from the UK government in 2017.