LGIM, NTR Raise €390 Million for Renewables Expansion in Europe

UK-based asset manager Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) and renewable energy player NTR have raised EUR 390 million in committed capital and co-investment opportunity in the first close of the L&G NTR Clean Power Fund. This Fund would invest in clean power infrastructure assets across wind, solar and energy storage.

The Fund is designed for institutional investors with a focus on pension funds, insurers and endowments. At first close, the Fund has raised commitments from a range of sources. LGIM said that this is in addition to €50 million of co-investment from Legal & General (L&G).

In a drive to boost energy independence and reduce emissions, governments across Europe are looking to accelerate the rollout of clean energy generation technologies and energy efficiency investments – all of which require significant investment and asset creation. LGIM held that the Fund has already started to deploy capital in support of this programme, announcing its first asset acquisitions in January 2023 – three Spanish pre-operational solar projects from global renewable energy developer BayWa r.e.

As the asset manager, NTR sources the pipeline of assets for the Fund to invest in, as well as applying its construction and asset management expertise across the life cycle of clean energy infrastructure. As fund manager, LGIM provides the scale of its distribution, stewardship and investment capabilities to facilitate the vital role that institutional finance is playing in funding clean power generation.

Bill Hughes, Global Head of Real Assets at LGIM, said, “Deploying private capital will be vital to deliver the pipeline of assets we need to reach net zero – this partnership aims to do just that, filling the funding gap and accelerating the construction and operation of clean power infrastructure.”

Rosheen McGuckian, CEO of NTR, mentioned on the LGIM led fund, “The Fund aims to offer exposure to a portfolio of assets across the full lifecycle of clean power projects in Europe, providing diversification across technologies, regulatory regimes and climate profiles.”

Europe wants to have at least 40% of the energy mix as renewable energy by the end of this decade to avert the vagaries of climate change and reduce dependence of Russian fossil fuel supplies.