BlackRock acquires two GE wind farms in Ireland

The real assets division of global asset manager BlackRock has acquired two wind farms in Ireland from the investment arm of General Electric.

GE Energy Financial Services agreed to sell the 17MW Acres wind farm in Donegal and the 34MW Barranafaddock wind farm located in Waterford. Both projects have a 15-year power purchase agreement.

BlackRock, one of the largest investment platforms in the world, has over $2.5 billion of equity in renewable assets under management. It has invested in more than 75 renewable energy projects and has a 2GW portfolio of wind and solar assets in the US, Canada, Ireland, Sweden, France and the UK. 

In February, it held a €275 million first close on its €500 million European-focused renewable energy fund. BlackRock said the fund has a 20-year buy-and-hold strategy that will target unlevered investments in wind and solar. The firm also runs the BlackRock NTR Renewable Power Fund, a platform set up with Irish renewables developer NTR. The fund closed in 2013 at $611 million.

“Renewable energy has become a mainstream asset class within infrastructure, Rory O’Connor, BlackRock’s head of European investment, said in February. “Demand for renewables in developed countries is being driven by the need to replace an ageing power generation fleet, improvements in cost competitiveness and concerns about climate change. For investors, the sector can provide opportunities for less correlated, inflation-linked, long-duration income and attractive risk-adjusted returns.”