Foresight: first closing of sustainability-led energy infrastructure fund

Foresight has secured total commitments to-date of €342 million to Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners (“FEIP” or “the Fund”).

Commitments to the Fund have been made by institutional investors from across Europe, including: the life insurance company in DNB, Norway’s largest financial institution; PRI Pensionsgaranti, a Swedish mutually-owned insurance company; Arcano Earth Fund, a sustainable infrastructure Fund of Funds managed by Spain’s leading alternative asset manager, Arcano Capital; a number of Swedish pension foundations acting through COIN, an investment management consultancy; IMAS Foundation, a sister foundation to the INGKA Foundation, owner of INGKA Group, which in turn owns the majority of IKEA’s department stores globally; and the European Investment Bank.

Foresight has an extensive pipeline of investment opportunities and it is expected that the Fund will acquire assets rapidly, using €275 million of the total €342 million of commitments that are available on first Closing.

FEIP will invest in all aspects of new low-carbon energy infrastructure. This includes: (i) a diverse range of renewable energy generation technologies particularly wind, solar and hydropower; (ii) flexible renewable-enabling infrastructure, such as batteries and other forms of energy storage; and (iii) transmission and distribution assets.

It is expected that the majority of investments will be made into greenfield projects where Foresight can utilise its experience of managing projects during construction, with the aim of delivering a premium return to investors. The Fund will retain a proportional allocation for investment into operational projects to provide an element of cash yield.

Commenting on the first closing, Dan Wells, Partner at Foresight, said: “FEIP’s strategy has been designed specifically in the context of the evolving energy infrastructure sector, given the global transition to decentralised, digitised and decarbonised networks. While we are delighted with the commitments secured for the first Closing, the team’s focus is on the future and the rapid deployment of FEIP into a high-quality asset portfolio.”

Richard Thompson, Partner at Foresight, added: “Building on our track record of sustainable investments made on behalf of institutional investors, FEIP’s strategy has been closely aligned to selected UN Sustainable Development Goals. The portfolio will be structured with the objective of delivering an attractive risk-adjusted return to institutional investors, whilst providing a material and positive environmental and social impact.”

FEIP’s investment strategy has been shaped to achieve specific decarbonisation objectives in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. It aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”), in particular with respect to Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7), Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9) and Climate Action (SDG 13). Foresight offers high quality Sustainability and ESG reporting which covers ongoing monitoring of metrics such as greenhouse gas reduction and greenhouse gas intensity of invested capital, renewable energy generation and diversion of waste from landfill among others.

Source: https://www.foresightgroup.eu/