BlackRock buys Terra Firma US wind portfolio

BlackRock Real Assets has acquired a 752MW portfolio of US wind farms from Terra Firma Capital Partners through its $1.65 billion Global Renewable Power Fund II.

BlackRock agreed to purchase the operating assets of EverPower, a US-based wind farm developer. The seven projects are in Pennsylvania, Illinois, California and New York. The firm did not disclose the deal value.

GRP II closed in July after exceeding its $1 billion target by securing commitments from 67 LPs. The fund seeks returns between 9 percent and 10 percent from in-construction and early-stage operating onshore wind and solar projects. At final close, GRP II had 20 percent of its capital invested in assets including a 211MW wind farm in Texas, a 160MW wind farm in Norway, a 150MW solar portfolio in Minnesota and two Japanese solar projects totalling 55MW.

Terra Firma has been looking to sell parts of EverPower’s 3GW wind development business. The firm purchased EverPower in 2009 for $350 million and built it into one of the 25 largest wind developers in the US. In February, the investment manager sold a 409MW wind portfolio associated with its UK-based renewables developer Infinis to JPMorgan Asset Management.

“Under Terra Firma’s ownership, EverPower has become a growth-oriented, high-quality developer, with a large and very strong portfolio of operational assets,” said Andrew Géczy, Terra Firma’s chief executive. “Terra Firma’s decision to divide EverPower’s portfolio reflects the standalone strength and scale of each unit and delivers the highest value to investors.”