Blackstone to Invest $3 B in North America’s Largest Private RE Firm

New York City-based Blackstone Inc said on Friday it would invest about $3 billion in Invenergy Renewables Holdings Llc, the largest private renewable energy firm in North America.

The money that Blackstone will invest is aimed at providing capital to accelerate Invenergy’s renewables development activities, the company said in a statement.

Blackstone, the world’s largest manager of alternative assets like private equity and real estate, has been seeking to bolster its sustainability credentials as investors increasingly question companies on their impact on the environment and workers. At present, the company operates over 175 renewable energy projects totaling nearly 25,000 megawatts developed across four continents. Blackstone claims to have developed generation projects that power the equivalent of 8.5 million homes.

Canadian pension fund Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ) and Invenergy management remain majority owners of the company, while Invenergy will continue as managing member. Blackstone said the investment was made through funds managed by Blackstone Infrastructure Partners.

Sean Klimczak, Global Head of Infrastructure at Blackstone, said: “Blackstone is committed to investing behind the energy transition and Invenergy is the clear independent leader in the renewable energy sector. We look forward to a long-term partnership with the Invenergy and CDPQ teams and are excited to invest alongside them to support the accelerated build-out of Invenergy’s clean energy portfolio.”

Notably, Invenergy received a #4 global rank for “Top Power Generators” based on renewables capacity by Energy Intelligence New Energy in 2020.

Jim Murphy, President & Corporate Business Leader at Invenergy, said: “The Invenergy team is pleased to welcome Blackstone, a leader in the renewable investment space, as our partner. We greatly value our long-term relationship with CDPQ and are thrilled to continue to accelerate the clean energy transition with Blackstone’s additional investment and capabilities.”

Since 2019, Blackstone has committed nearly $13 billion in investments that it believes are consistent with the broader energy transition, the company said. Additionally in 2020, Blackstone announced a plan to reduce carbon emissions by 15% in aggregate within the first three years of ownership across all new investments where Blackstone has control over energy usage.