AIP Management (AIP), founded by Danish pension provider PKA, has entered into an agreement to acquire a 49.99% equity stake in Pine Forest, a co-located 300MW solar photovoltaic and 200MW battery energy storage system (BESS) project in Texas.

Clearway Energy Group sold the project for approximately $200m (€185.3m).

Pine Forest is located in the ERCOT North market region. It offers access to a low-congestion, high-voltage transmission network and proximity to densely populated load centres in Dallas and Fort Worth. The project is under construction, with operations scheduled for late Q4 2025.

Clearway is one of the largest utility-scale renewable energy and storage developers in the US and will continue to provide long-term operations and maintenance oversight and asset management services.

The Pine Forest solar PV capacity will be fully contracted through long-term virtual power-purchase agreements with investment-grade corporate offtakers. The BESS will participate in ERCOT’s wholesale energy and ancillary services markets, optimising revenue opportunities while improving grid stability.

Domenico Tripodi, partner and co-head of investments at AIP, said: “Pine Forest represents a compelling investment, combining long-term contracted solar revenue with merchant battery storage exposure. A repeat partnership with Clearway in a project with strong counterparties and diversified revenue streams aligns with our strategy to invest in infrastructure that supports the decarbonisation of energy systems while offering good, risk-adjusted returns.”

Brooks Friedeman, VP capital markets at Clearway, said: “We are excited to continue our partnership with AIP through the Pine Forest project. AIP’s strategic approach and expertise in diversified decarbonisation infrastructure makes it an ideal partner as we advance the construction and long-term operations of this significant project.”

The investment is structured to ensure resilience through construction, and is fully unlevered, avoiding financing risks and securing an attractive cash yield. The completion of the transaction is expected to close in late Q2 2025.

AIP Management was founded in 2012 by the labour-market pension provider PKA.

PKA, which manages four pension funds, set up the firm originally as PKA AIP, but is now spinning out its existing investment activities in private equity, infrastructure, agriculture and forestry into a separate subsidiary, which it said would also manage wind-energy investments. 

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