The €215bn Dutch asset manager PGGM has acquired another stake in renewable energy in the US as part of its joint venture with EDF Renewables.
It now owns 50% of a solar power plant in California as well as a wind farm in Iowa – both under construction – with a combined capacity of 332MW.
As a consequence of the investment, the portfolio of PGGM-EDF Renewables will comprise 920MW in total by 2020.
According to PGGM, including the new projects, its infrastructure fund had a direct stake in approximately 1GW of sustainable energy, equally divided across wind and solar, in Europe and the US.
It said its fast-growing portfolio of climate solutions for its main client, the €203bn Dutch healthcare scheme PFZW, consisted of more than €7bn of investments in private markets and listed companies.
In June, PGGM took a 50% stake in the US portfolio of a sustainable energy project run by EDF. The holdings included wind farms in Minnesota (generating 200MW) and Oklahoma (154MW) as well as a 234MW solar farm in Nevada.
At the time, a spokesman for the asset manager said that returns were expected to be in line with its net target of 8-12% for instrastructure investments.
Erik van de Brake, PGGM’s head of infrastructure, said the asset manager would like to work as long-term partner with EDF Renewables because its long history of successful investments in the US market for sustainable energy.
PFZW aims to invest €20bn by 2020 in “solutions” that directly and measurably contribute to solving issues such as climate change, food security, healthcare and clean water.
Last year, PGGM invested approximately €200m in a portfolio of solar panels run by Tesla-owned energy provider SolarCity, the largest solar energy provider in the US.
The solar energy systems have a combined capacity of 275MW and supply 38,000 households across 21 states.
