Copenhagen Investment Partners, already a leader in the investments and development of greenfield energy infrastructure projects, reports that investor demand remains strong for new opportunities in its sectors. The group reported it is halfway in the raise for a new investment fund, which is on track to become the world’s largest dedicated greenfield renewable energy fund.
The first closing on the new fund, which is the fifth flagship infrastructure fund raised by the group, was completed on June 30 with CIP reporting has received €5.6 billion (nearly $6.2 billion) in capital commitments from a large group of leading institutional investors across continental Europe, the Nordics, the UK, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region. The executives for the fund manager reported they are on track to reach its target fund size of €12 billion ($13.2 billion). CIP currently manages a total of 11 funds, having raised to date approximately €25 billion ($27.5 billion)
“The strong and accelerating demand for new renewable infrastructure to secure energy independence and deliver on ambitious climate pledges creates many new investment opportunities,” said Jakob Baruël Poulsen, Managing Partner at CIP. “With its greenfield focus and large and diversified portfolio, CI V has the potential to significantly contribute to, and accelerate the energy transition on a global scale, while generating strong returns for our investors.”
The fund already has ownership of more than 40 renewable energy infrastructure projects with a total potential commitment of approximately €20 billion, corresponding to more than 150 percent of the target fund size. According to CIP, the large seed portfolio provides significant optionality and flexibility in project selection and portfolio construction, as well as investment execution robustness and visibility. In June, the new fund took its first final investment decision on a 400 MW onshore wind project in the US, expected to start construction in the coming months.
Based on the current portfolio, CIP reports its fifth fund is targeting to add an estimated 20 GW of new clean energy capacity to the grid. They estimate that the fund can directly support the development of enough power for more than 10 million average households with renewable energy, which corresponds to an annual CO2 avoidance of 15 million metric tons.
The investment strategy is a continuation of the four predecessor flagship funds, applying the same industrial value-creation approach, whereby projects are entered early and de-risked and optimized, before the start of construction. The fund will focus on greenfield investments within large-scale renewable energy infrastructure. It has a global reach and intends to diversify investments across technologies such as contracted offshore wind, energy storage, onshore wind, and solar in countries in North America, Western Europe, and Asia Pacific.
