Greencoat Capital has revealed it has raised more than £1.1 billion in commitments from UK pension funds to invest in UK solar.
And that feat, the company claims, establishes it as the largest dedicated fund making direct investments in operational UK solar farms today.
Two of the pension funds to have committed funds to Greencoat have been named as M&S Pension Trust and Towers Watson Secure Income Fund.
Simon Lee, chief investment officer at the former, said that solar as an asset class was attractive to pension funds owing to its predictable cash flows and ability to offer inflation protection.
“We are also supporting the transition of UK energy production to a sustainable low carbon future,” he said.
Duncan Hale, portfolio manager at Towers Watson Secure Income Fund, meanwhile said that the past few years had been “transformative” for pension investment in renewables infrastructure.
“The wider environmental benefits aside, there is now a strong understanding of the characteristics of solar as an asset class. Greencoat Solar has exemplified this shift, and we are delighted to have supported its success.”
Greencoat has so far invested just over £610 million of the £1.1 billion committed, acquiring 62 assets with a total generation capacity of 476MW.
Lee Moscovitch, partner at Greencoat Capital, said: “To reach over £1 billion within two years for what is effectively a new institutional asset class is fantastic and demonstrates the quality of the asset class and the faith our clients have placed in us.”