Fundraising

BlackRock launches clean energy team

The world’s largest asset manager is partnering with NTR, a Dublin-based renewable energy developer, to launch an invesetment group that will target the renewable power sector. Jim Barry, chief executive of NTR, will become chief investment officer of the new group.

-

New York-based BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has agreed to partner with Irish clean energy developer NTR to launch a new renewable power investment group.

Dublin-based NTR will be teaming up with BlackRock Alternative Investors (BAI), which currently manages assets worth more than $110 billion, according to a statement. BlackRock said NTR “will provide market perspective and insights to the renewable power investment team”. 

Matthew Botein, head of BAI, said in a statement renewable power was a good way capitalise on increasing long-term energy demand.

BlackRock: betting
bigger on renewables
“Renewable power is expected to make up the lion’s share of relative growth in power generation methods over the next 25 years,” Botein said.

BlackRock did not specify what regions or kinds of energy projects the new group would focus on. BlackRock did not return a request for comment as of press time.

Neither company specified what NTR’s stake in the new group will be, but BlackRock said NTR will “retain an economic interest in an identified set of products on the new investment platform”. 

Jim Barry, chief executive of NTR, will become chief investment officer of the new renewable power group. He will transition to that position between now and the summer, according to an NTR statement.

BlackRock said NTR’s “current and past” activities included the construction of more than 4 gigawatts of wind and solar energy projects in the US and Europe.

In California, NTR’s subsidiary Tessera Solar recently sold its 709-megawatt Imperial Valley project to a joint venture between AES Corporation and US private equity firm Riverstone Holdings for an undisclosed sum. Tessera also sold another 663.5 megawatt California solar project to K Road Power for an undisclosed amount.

NTR reported a €94.9 million loss for the six-month period ending September 30. The company said its EBITDA loss included €73.8 million in the solar division, and added that costs “have since been significantly curtailed with the decision to sell 1.5GW of solar projects”. 

Founded in 1978, NTR started out as a developer of infrastructure projects in Ireland. It now focuses on renewable energy and waste management projects in the US as well as Ireland.
 
BlackRock, a publicly listed investment company, spun out of private equity firm Blackstone Group in 1992. As of 30 December, 2010, BlackRock had assets under management of $3.5 trillion.