Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) has established a new, U.K.-based platform – Renewable Power Capital (RPC).
The platform is funded by CPP Investments’ multi-billion Power & Renewables investment strategy and will invest in solar, onshore wind and battery storage, among other technologies, across Europe. The company would be a majority-owned, but separately run portfolio company.
RPC is led by Bob Psaradellis as CEO, formerly GE Energy Financial Services, where he successfully closed capital investments in energy assets of over €5 billion in corporate value and raised over $14 billion in third-party equity and debt for GE’s energy, renewables, oil & gas, aviation and healthcare ventures worldwide.
“The establishment of RPC brings together our long-term, flexible capital and a management team with a depth of expertise and sophisticated understanding of the European renewable energy market. The business is well-positioned to create value through enhancing routes to market, driving more efficient commercialization strategies and making improvements to assets’ capital structures as many European renewables markets transition towards a subsidy-free regime.”
Bruce Hogg, managing director, head of power & renewables, CPP Investments.
RPC will aim to allow the energy transition through a patient, long-term investment strategy underpinned by a creative approach to growth and commercial risk management and the development of holistic capacity to generate long-term value through the ownership and operation of renewable energy assets.
The management team includes Mark Hanson as general counsel & COO, Mariano Berges as CCO, Steve Hunter as director of power markets and Daniel Szentirmai as principal.
RPC will build a scalable and diversified pan-European platform, initially based on growth, ready-to-build and operating properties. RPC will have capabilities across various power markets and across the value chain from growth, construction and service.
“Our new platform is open to investments, initially in the Nordics and Spain, and expanding to other European jurisdictions thereafter. Drawing on our deep expertise in the sector, we can work together in partnership with developers, wind and solar equipment manufacturers, construction companies, and investment partners as the market continues to mature and addresses long-term structural change. We have a well-developed pipeline of opportunities and expect to make our first investment in early 2021.”
Bob Psaradellis, CEO, Renewable Power Capital.
The platform will have access to flexible capital from CPP Investments, enabling it to structure investments that understand the evolving market conditions in Europe and the range of risk-adjusted returns available.
CPP Investments, with investments in construction and operating assets through onshore wind, offshore wind, solar, hydro, and related storage and distribution, have committed approximately C$9 billion of equity to renewable energy worldwide as of September 2020. The renewable energy investment strategy has approximately 4.5 GW of operating assets in Brazil, Canada, Germany, Japan and the United States, with investment professionals in Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, New York and Toronto.
