L and G seals first close on €250m wind fund

Legal & General Capital (L&G) has sealed a first close on an onshore wind fund targeting €250 million.

The milestone was reached at the same time as the insurer's investment in NTR Wind Management, a subsidiary of London-listed developer NTR.

Both companies have committed to seed the fund, with L&G pledging 47.5 percent of the vehicle and NTR investing €50 million. They “plan to grow the fund in order to create a platform for institutional investors with an interest in the clean energy sector,” according to a statement, and have a development target of 270MW.

NTR has already bought the first four assets for the vehicle for €62 million. The plants, which will have a combined capacity of 55MW, include utility-scale wind farms in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland that are ready for construction.

“L&G sees wind and solar power as key components to delivering greener and cheaper energy in the long term. By using its balance sheet capital to pave the way for large scale, long term institutional investment, L&G is channelling its investment might into helping revolutionise these technologies,” said John Bromley, head of clean energy at Legal & General Capital.

L&G aims to spend £15 billion on UK infrastructure, with a focus on sectors including housing and urban regeneration, transport and clean energy. Having spent about £6.6 billion on UK infrastructure so far, it is just making its first steps into clean energy.

In addition to their commitment to the fund, L&G and NTR said they intend to look for joint investment opportunities in other clear energy sectors.