Macquarie’s Green Investment Group Acquires Conergy Solar Team & Portfolio
Macquarie Capital’s Green Investment Group, formerly the UK Government’s Green Investment Bank, has this week announced the acquisition of a solar development portfolio from Conergy Asia & ME which will include employees and solar development assets across the Asia Pacific region.
Australian banking giant Macquarie Capital’s Green Investment Group — which it acquired off the UK Government in mid-2017 for £2.3 billion — announced on Tuesday that it had acquired what it described as a “significant solar development portfolio” from Conergy Asia & ME which includes solar development assets across the Asia Pacific Region; commercial, technical, and energy storage capabilities; and an asset monitoring centre; as well as a team of 88 Conergy employees located in Singapore, Australia, Japan, Germany, and the Philippines with experience in developing over 500 MW worth of solar energy projects across the Asia Pacific and a total of 2 gigawatts (GW) globally.
“We are pleased to enhance our solar energy capabilities from development through to design, engineering, procurement and delivery management, to build on Macquarie Capital’s solar energy track record across Asia Pacific,” said Neil Arora, Head of Macquarie Capital for Asia and the Middle East. “Today’s acquisition will also further strengthen our battery storage expertise and allow us to pursue other investment opportunities in a rapidly growing region for the renewables sector.”
It’s been nearly a year since Macquarie Capital acquired the Green Investment Group, in which the Group has expanded in both scope and scale and now ranks as one of the world’s leading green energy investors. Already this year the Group has acquired a 25% stake in the 210 MW Westermost Rough Offshore Wind Farm, and expanded its operations into North America with the launch of Candela Renewables and the financial close on the 200 MW Canadian Breaks onshore wind farm in Texas.
“This acquisition underscores our ambition for the Green Investment Group to advance its position as a world-leading developer and investor in green energy projects in Asia and globally – across offshore wind, onshore wind, solar, waste to energy, battery storage and energy efficiency,” added Daniel Wong, Global Co-Head of Infrastructure and Energy for Macquarie Capital. “I’m delighted to welcome the Conergy team to GIG.”
Conergy, on the other hand, has had extensive experience throughout the Asia Pacific region including in Australia, Japan, and Thailand. Conergy Asia has quickly become a leading developer in the region, with a 24 MW solar power plant in Sin-An, South Korea; a 1 MW solar power plant in Indonesia; and total installed capacity of 132 MW in Thailand and 274 MW in the Philippines. The company was also responsible for Australia’s first combined large-scale solar and lithium-ion battery storage project.
“Conergy has had extensive solar experience in the Asia Pacific market and our employees have a strong reputation in the region,” explained Alexander Lenz, CEO of Conergy. “Given Macquarie’s green investment credentials and activity in the sector, we are excited to join Macquarie and leverage our capabilities to help accelerate Macquarie’s aspirations in solar.”
Conergy Asia was bought out nearly a year ago by a group of funds managed by Tennenbaum Capital Partners and Goldman Sachs BDC, marking the second time in four years the company changed hands.
“Conergy has long been viewed as a leader in the development, construction and operation of solar projects and over time our team has been involved in the installation of 2GW of capacity globally,” added Marc Lohoff, COO of Conergy. “We see our team as a natural fit with Macquarie and its GIG platform.”
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