Blackstone Infrastructure Partners said it will make a $3 billion equity investment in Invenergy Renewables Holdings, a Chicago-based renewable energy developer.
Blackstone’s investment will provide capital to speed Invenergy’s renewables development activities. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and Invenergy management remain majority owners and Invenergy will continue as managing member.
Since 2019, Blackstone has committed nearly $13 billion in investments that Blackstone said it believes are consistent with the broader energy transition.
Lazard and CIBC served as M&A advisors to Blackstone and Kirkland & Ellis as legal advisor to Blackstone. Mayer Brown was legal advisor to CDPQ, and Sidley & Austin and White & Case represented Invenergy.
In late October, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank arranged a $150 million Green Revolving Credit Facility for Invenergy Renewables, a first for the developer. Money from the facility will be used to support renewable energy project development in Japan.
Invenergy Renewables has developed more than 175 projects totaling nearly 25,000 MW across four continents. It also develops transmission and advanced energy storage projects.
In late November, Invenergy-backed Clean Path NY signed an agreement with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and submitted the contract to the New York State Public Service Commission for approval. The deal would advance the $11 billion project to build a 175-mile-long transmission line, and 3,800 MW of solar and wind generating capacity at New York Power Authority’s (NYPA) existing Blenheim-Gilboa pumped storage facility. The project is a partnership between Invenergy, energyRe, and NYPA.
Congestions on New York State’s electric grid has limited renewable energy produced in upstate New York from reaching New York City. Emission-free energy powers around 80% of the electric grid upstate and less than 20% downstate, the project partners said. The Clean Path NY project is intended to build new renewable energy generation upstate and deliver it to New York City through an underground transmission line, 105 miles of which would be sited in an existing NYPA transmission corridor.
