Investors

CDPQ and partners seal 1.7GW Mexican clean energy deal

The Canadian pension manager and CKD Infraestructura have made the first renewables acquisition of their partnership.

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Caisse de dépôt et placement du Quebec and a consortium of Mexican pension managers have purchased a portfolio of wind and solar assets in the first renewable energy deal from their infrastructure investment partnership.

CDPQ and CKD Infraestructura Mexico acquired an 80 percent stake in a 1.7GW portfolio of clean energy assets in Mexico from developer Enel Green Power. Enel will maintain 20 percent ownership and operate the projects. The portfolio consists of five wind and three solar projects, with 1.2GW under construction.

The investors said they targeted Mexico’s renewable energy sector to take advantage of the government’s support for the energy source in trying to meet its goal to generate 40 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2035.

Their partnership began in 2015 when they agreed to invest $2.1 billion together in Mexican infrastructure. CDPQ and CKD IM have backed road and telecommunication infrastructure so far and have now added clean energy to the platform.

Mack Tall, CDPQ’s executive vice-president for infrastructure, said the partnership with local investors in Mexico gives the pension manager local access to opportunities in the country, a “priority market” for their investment strategy.

“This new investment in high-quality assets is perfectly in line with our strategy, and allows us to strengthen our partnership with local pension funds and other major players in Mexico,” Mack said.

In a media call in August to discuss six-month results, CDPQ president and chief executive Michael Sabia said the Montreal-based pension manager has made progress in “executing our strategies that always seek opportunities to diversify our sources of returns”. As of 30 June, CDPQ manages C$286.5 billion ($229.2 billion; €194.3 billion).

CKD Infraestructura Mexico is a vehicle backed by a group of Mexican pension fund managers including XXI Banorte, Afore SURA, Banamex and Pensionisste, along with infrastructure fund Fonadin. The group has 17.8 billion Mexican pesos ($960 million; €813 million) in assets under management.