Generate Capital Raises $200 Million To Fund Distributed Energy, Led By Alaska Permanent

San Francisco-based Generate Capital announced earlier this week that it had successfully raised $200 million to fund its future growth in distributed energy and resource infrastructure, led by the United States’ largest sovereign wealth fund, Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation.

Founded in late 2014 by distributed energy industry veterans Matan Friedman, Scott Jacobs, and Jigar Shah, Generate Capital is a leading financier, owner, and operator of distributed energy and resource infrastructure, and has implemented more than $500 million worth of infrastructure funding programs since its creation. Specifically, Generate Capital’s operations see it partner with leading technology vendors and project developers to build, own, and operate distributed energy infrastructure projects.

Announced on Tuesday, Generate Capital revealed that it had successfully raised $200 million in funding from multiple institutional investors, including the largest sovereign wealth fund in the United States, Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation (APFC), which was originally formed in 1976 out of the revenue generated by oil from the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, and at the end of 2016 was worth $55 billion.

The investment raised by Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation — and a group of domestic and international pension funds, as well as Generate Capital’s prior investors — is good news for the development of future distributed energy and resource infrastructure, but it is also proof that distributed energy sources like solar and wind are more than just a green fever dream but are financially attractive. APFC’s Marcus Frampton explains:

“We were looking to invest in a platform that provides access to an asset class with great risk-adjusted returns in these emerging areas of energy and resource infrastructure. It quickly became clear to us that Generate was at the head of the class, and we are excited to help build the company and the category.” 

“We are thrilled to welcome Alaska Permanent as a new partner and board member. Generate’s first few years were focused on proving the model; this new capital enables us to grow, continue supporting our partners’ project pipelines, and extend our presence in these high-growth infrastructure markets,” added Scott Jacobs, Generate Capital’s CEO and co-founder.