Glenfarne’s newest venture focuses on LNG, energy security

After 11 years growing its business, Glenfarne Group has launched an energy transition-based platform, Glenfarne Energy Transition. So why now?

“[Energy transition investing] is more relevant than ever now, given the current global energy crisis,” said Brendan Duval, Glenfarne’s managing partner and founder and a former Macquarie Capital veteran. “Global energy security remains a top priority. Through GET, we are accelerating our efforts to bring to market our supply of responsibly sourced, environmentally sensible US LNG [liquified natural gas] to provide global energy security.”

Duval said “GET aims to address the ‘here and now’ of the global energy transition through three core businesses: renewables, grid stability and global LNG solutions. GET operates with the understanding that the energy transition requires all three complementary capabilities to meet energy demands today and into the future”.

Glenfarne declined to specify what the breakdown of GET’s portfolio will look like between these three businesses, saying that it is “dynamic” and “is growing based on the needs of the markets that we serve”.

With a “dynamic” portfolio focused on the “here and now” of the energy transition, Glenfarne is not concerned over the possibility of stranded LNG assets post-energy crisis. “[We need] flexible low-carbon fuels that provide the functionality required for grid stability, flexible fuels to enable renewable generation growth, and grid stability that maintains reliability for renewables when the sun is down or there is no wind,” Duval underlined.

Asked whehter GET plans to launch its own fund, Duval was non-comittal, other than to point out that “Glenfarne is not a fund manager. We are a company, a long-term holder and operator of energy transition assets,” he said. As for GET’s investor base, Duval asserts: “We have a number of globally recognised external investors in some of our entities.” Otherwise, the firm derives its incremental growth capital from its assets’ stable, contracted, and regulated revenue, Infrastructure Investor understands.

GET will target high-growth emerging markets across Asia and Latin America, as well as support ongoing LNG production in the US and supply LNG worldwide, according to Duval. The firm does not currently have a footprint in the Middle East or Africa.

GET already has existing assets in the form of 12 grid stability power plants, 27 renewable assets and two LNG export projects – Texas LNG & Magnolia LNG – which it seeks to finalise investments for next year.

When asked whether or not Glenfarne’s infrastructure business proper would stop investing in renewables and spin off those assets to GET, Duval said, “We are a long-term investor, and there are no plans to spin off any individual assets.”