BlackRock has raised one of the biggest single funds ever investing in renewable power.
The feat underlines the growing appeal to investors of renewables and comes in a year in which private fundraising earmarked for green energy has overtaken that for conventional power generation for the first time.
The world’s biggest fund manager said in a statement that it has raised a total $1.4bn for its Renewable Income UK fund, following a third round of commitments — much of it from British pension funds. The fund invests mostly in solar and wind generation in the UK.
BlackRock said it was the largest fund of its kind ever raised in the UK and, according according to analysts Preqin, it is one of the largest on record for investment solely in renewable power, globally — well ahead of the $819m raised by specialist Luxembourg-based fund manager NovEnergia for its NovEnergia II Energy & Environment fund in 2008.
BlackRock has also raised a separate $724m for its Renewable Income Europe fund, which closed last year. That was the fourth-largest, according to data provider Preqin, behind a similar offering from private equity fund managers HgCapital.
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