University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP) is investing in Rowan Digital Infrastructure, a US data centre developer backed by Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners.
The C$12bn (€7.9bn) Canadian universities and sector organisations pension fund is investing an unspecified amount in Rowan to support Quinbrook’s efforts to create sustainable solutions for energy-intensive industries.
Rowan, founded in 2020, offers tailored data centre solutions to large-scale tech companies in the US. Its flexible approach allows customers to rapidly expand their operations while meeting growing energy demands through renewable sources.
The latest investment follows UPP and Quinbrook’s partnership which started last year with UPP’s investment in Quinbrook’s Net Zero Power Fund.
Peter Martin Larsen, senior MD and head of private markets at UPP, said: “We are excited to partner with Quinbrook in their mission to support the transition to a net-zero future, in line with our own climate-related commitments.
“Beyond adding important inflation-hedging properties to UPP’s investment portfolio, our investment in Rowan Digital Infrastructure provides a unique opportunity to help fund the critical infrastructure required for the growth of data centres with renewable energy sources.”
John Lucas, MD and North America regional lead for Quinbrook, said: “We are thrilled that UPP shares our focus on investing in energy infrastructure that helps support the net-zero transition and are very pleased to welcome them as a co-investor in Rowan, and to our broader infrastructure platform.
“The large load requirements of new-build data centres means that there is likely to be increasing investment in and demand for data centres powered by renewable energy. Rowan’s platform has been built and well placed to capture hyperscale customers’ demand for ‘build ready’ sites powered by renewable energy solutions.”
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