QIC Infrastructure-backed Renewa secures US$450m of capital

QIC, on behalf of its managed clients, has appointed energy industry veterans Mark Noyes, Peter Tumminello, and Natalie Jackson as independent directors of portfolio company Renewa. Led by Co-Founders and Co-CEOs Stephen Lee and Gage Mooring, Renewa is a leading land under infrastructure company now with a total of US$450 million of committed capital. This committed funding demonstrates QIC’s focus on decentralized infrastructure, aligning with its strategy across energy transition, decarbonization, and distributed infrastructure.

Renewa owns one of the largest independent portfolios of land under clean energy projects in the U.S. The company provides flexible, long-term capital and other specialized financial solutions to landowners and renewable energy project developers through the acquisition of land and associated rental payments from utility-scale wind, solar, storage, and other critical infrastructure projects.

Significantly expanding its portfolio, Renewa has achieved several important growth milestones since QIC invested in the platform in 2022. It owns land and ground leases under more than 130 renewable energy facilities across the U.S., acquiring land under projects operated by more than 50 developers, including Acciona, Duke Energy, Enel, Leeward Energy, Lightsource bp, and NextEra Energy, in 26 states.

Renewa, with a presence in more than 30 gigawatts of projects, has one of the most diversified land exposures to U.S. renewable energy. Projects on the company’s ground lease assets aim to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. by approximately 5 million tons in 2023, the equivalent of taking approximately 1 million passenger cars off U.S. roads.

Peggy Smyth, Partner, QIC Infrastructure and Chair of the Renewa Board of Directors, said, “Throughout history, critical infrastructure has always been about securing key land nodes. As the energy transition unfolds, securing key renewable energy and energy storage nodes has become exceedingly important for renewable energy developers – a challenge we have helped address through Renewa’s distinct land financing partnerships.”

Arash Shojaie, Senior Principal, QIC Infrastructure, added, “Renewa’s strategy targets the convergence point of real estate and infrastructure. As these two asset classes continue to evolve and converge within the decarbonization thematic, we are finding new opportunities at that intersection. In the process, we are contributing to the U.S. energy transition and building value for our clients.”

Estimates indicate that more than 250 million acres of land valued at roughly US$400 billion will be required to house the solar, wind, and energy storage facilities needed to achieve U.S. net zero commitments. For context, in 2021, the U.S. energy sector required 81 million acres of land.

Renewa further expands QIC’s North American infrastructure presence. Other Infrastructure assets managed by QIC in North America include Generate Capital, CenTrio, U.S. concession investments in the campus parking systems at Northeastern University through MasParc and Mobility and at The Ohio State University through CampusParc, as well as the Long Beach Courthouse PPP.

QIC’s global infrastructure footprint has now grown to encompass 24 assets in six countries1 across the transport, energy and utilities, and social healthcare sectors.

Citations

1. As at 30 June 2023