Railpen, the investment manager of the UK’s £34bn (€40.2bn) rail transport pension schemes, has acquired a 50% stake in London-based renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure developer AGR Power.
Formed in 2011, AGR has delivered over 55 projects across solar, wind, energy storage and sustainable agriculture, deploying over £850m of capital and connecting over 1.1GW of renewable energy to the UK markets.
Railpen, which is investing an unspecified amount to acquire its stake, said its investment is being made to support AGR’s growth in the UK renewable and infrastructure market and to help explore expansion opportunities, and develop technologies to enhance AGR’s 2GW development pipeline.
As part of the partnership, Railpen said it has committed to invest in AGR’s near-term UK solar, battery energy storage system (BESS) and greenhouse projects. The investment will facilitate the construction of 160MWp of solar photovoltaics, 150MW of BESS and AGR’s second sustainable greenhouse in 2024-25.
Railpen said it will be represented on AGR’s board by Lewis Vanstone and Cristiana Dochioiu, adding that AGR’s co-founder Oliver Breidt will remain at the helm as group director.
Breidt said: “I’m incredibly pleased to announce our partnership with Railpen in what is a landmark move for AGR. Railpen’s investment and reputation will help propel AGR into new territories and technologies, including our 1GW pipeline in Italy, and see us expanding our presence in Germany and into further agricultural assets.”
Dochioiu, an investment manager at Railpen, said: “We’re delighted to complete this investment in AGR, as part of our commitment to investing in innovative assets that grow our members’ capital over the long term.
“AGR’s approach to sustainable infrastructure development and investment matches Railpen’s ethos for sustainability and providing essential infrastructure to the UK.”
Railpen made its first direct investment into battery storage back in July 2022 when it acquired a 47% interest in Constantine Energy Storage, a grid-scale battery energy storage platform in the UK.
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