American investment company BlackRock has announced that is has achieved $1bn for the first close of its Global Renewable Power III (GRP III) fund. The company stated that it has received commitments from 35 investors in Asia, Europe and North America.
GRP III is the third in a series of funds established by BlackRock to invest in renewable energy generation, energy storage and distribution, a market the group says is now mainstream for the power industry.
The company has a total of $5.5bn in equity assets in its portfolio. Since 2011 Blackrock, through its Global Renewable Power platform, has invested in over 250 wind and solar projects across the world.
As well as investing in new assets, Blackrock has been divesting others. In February 2019 it sold four solar projects in Canada to Ulico for an undisclosed fee, having purchased the projects 18 months before.
BlackRock Renewable Power global head David Giordano said: “As global power generation shifts from two-thirds fossil fuels to two-thirds renewables over the next few decades, renewables are increasingly becoming a standalone allocation for investors and one of the most active sectors in infrastructure.
“GRP III helps clients build portfolio resilience by seeking to deliver returns driven by wind and solar, strong cash yields from the clean power we sell and capital growth from building and optimizing assets. At the same time, more and more investors are asking for solutions that allow them to invest in positive environmental outcomes.
“Our impact assessment framework provides market-leading reporting that measures and dollarizes the positive contribution made by our clients to help address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.”
Blackrock’s stock price is currently $486.69 a share on the New York Stock Exchange, giving the group a market capitalisation value of $75.13bn. This marks a successful year for the group on the stock market, as it started 2019 at $389.42 a share.
