BlackRock acquires two construction ready wind projects in the UK
A fund managed by BlackRock Real Assets has completed the acquisition of a 100% interest in two construction ready wind projects in the UK from REG Power Management, an experienced UK renewable energy developer.
BlackRock acquired the assets through Renewable Income UK fund, a fund focused on investing on an unlevered basis in wind and solar assets in the UK.
The 13 MW wind farm, Hallburn located in Cumbria and the 6 MW Pen Bryn Oer wind farm located in Wales are expected to start operations by early 2018. The projects are supported by 20-year fixed price green certificates and once operational, will provide funding of over £2.5 million (US$3.1 million) for local community initiatives over the 25 year operating period.
Rory O’Connor, Managing Director and Head of Renewable Power for Europe at BlackRock, said:
“We are very pleased to invest in the Hallburn and Pen Bryn Oer wind projects on behalf of our clients. This transaction represents BlackRock’s continued focus on renewable power investments, where the firm has over US$2.8 billion of equity assets under management. We continue to see the UK as an attractive market for wind and solar assets where BlackRock invested in 49 projects.“
Stewart Reed, Managing Director, UK strategic clients at BlackRock, said:
“Private market assets such as renewables, and particularly strategies with a specific focus on income, are ideally placed to help pension funds find the cash flow they need to meet their liabilities. These assets can provide less correlated, inflation-protected returns. And our clients seem to be responding, as according to BlackRock’s 2017 ‘Rebalancing Survey’, 67% of Europe, Middle East and Africa clients are planning to shift their allocation from cash into Real Assets .
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investments have also become an increasingly important requirement for trustees, making renewables an even more attractive investment option.”
Over the last years, BlackRock has invested in 29 wind projects in the UK representing over 381 MW of capacity, generating enough renewable energy to power over 167,000 homes annually. This transaction is part of a long-standing partnership with RPM who will continue to provide long-term operations and asset management services for these projects.
BlackRock operates one of the largest renewable power investment platforms in the world and has invested equity capital in 100 renewable power projects in recent years. To date, BlackRock Real Assets has a total invested portfolio of approximately 2.6 GW of generating capacity across wind and solar projects located in the USA, Canada, Ireland, Japan, Sweden, Norway, France and the UK.
