On Thursday, Greencoat Capital, whose $10 billion in managed client assets make it Europe’s largest specialist renewables investment manager, announced that it is making a major push into U.S. renewable energy assets. As part of its U.S. market ramp-up, Greencoat has opened offices in New York and Chicago, hired a senior U.S.-based team, and has already invested $500 million into wind farm portfolios in Texas and Illinois this year alone. The company is aiming to invest $5 billion in the U.S. renewables market by 2026.
In a statement announcing the expansion on Thursday, Greencoat said its plans to enter the U.S. market had been underway for some time, adding that “the current record-breaking pace of renewables buildout underscores [an] enormous opportunity” for Greencoat to replicate its investment strategy in the U.S. Greencoat invests on behalf of North American and European institutional investors (including public and private pension schemes and insurers) on a long-term, buy-and-hold basis in wind and solar generation and energy storage assets, an investment approach it describes as “secure income”-oriented. The model also allows developers and utilities to recycle capital to continue building out capacity in support of the low-carbon economy.
“It’s a uniquely exciting time to be entering the U.S. market as the country hits the inflection point of renewables growth,” Greencoat Partner Laurence Fumagelli said. “We see enormous opportunity for building a significant portfolio as we have done in the U.K. and Europe over the past eight years. A permanent presence in New York and Chicago will enable us to form stronger connections with leading energy infrastructure owners and investors, many of which are parties we have already partnered with in Europe.”
As part of its U.S. executive team builout, Greencoat has named longtime U.S. energy investor David Boyce to head its U.S. business. Alongside Boyce, Coen Weddepohl will lead U.S. investor relations and business development, with over 20 years of experience spanning private equity, hedge funds and impact investment, including serving as Head of Environmental Finance at Man Group. Saad Qais joins as head of asset management, with over 20 years of energy finance
experience, including over 10 years managing U.S. renewable energy portfolios and businesses. Ciaran O’Brien will continue chairing Greencoat’s U.S. business, as he has done since 2019. Between them, the team will be directly responsible for the development, financing and M&A of several thousand megawatts of renewable energy infrastructure assets across the United States.
“The current momentum behind U.S. renewables makes it the perfect time for Greencoat to expand into the U.S., with an expected trebling of U.S. renewable generating capacity by 2030 with an investment value of $1 trillion,” said U.S. Business Head David Boyce. “For Greencoat, we see a $5 billion investment opportunity over the next five years and want to establish Greencoat as one of North America’s foremost investors in renewables, matching the firm’s leading position in Europe.”
Greencoat’s European portfolio currently spans more than 3,000 MW of generating capacity across more than 200 wind, solar and bioenergy assets across the U.K., Ireland, France and Finland. Earlier this year, Greencoat bought a 24 percent stake in an 861 MW wind portfolio in South Texas, and an 80 percent stake in a 405 MW portfolio in Illinois.
