To expand its solar operations, Asheville-based Pine Gate Renewables has obtained a $650 million investment from two pension funds and an existing partner.
The funding is coming from HESTA, an Australian pension fund for employees in the health and community services industry, Generate Capital, and the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan.
According to Pine Gate, by 2025, the funds will support an additional 3 gigawatts of renewable energy infrastructure.
“This landmark transaction unlocks a new era of partnership and value creation at Pine Gate Renewables as we strive toward our mission to generate the power of tomorrow,” said Pine Gate CEO Ben Catt in a statement.
Generate Capital, based in San Francisco, is making its second investment in Pine Gate. Generate Capital PBC made a $500 million investment in Pine Gate in 2022. The $300 million commitment to a long-term asset partnership for solar project financing is part of the investment, along with $200 million in equity.
“The new partnership with institutional investors illustrates the value of Generate’s one-stop-shop business model as it opens up new, innovative sources of financing for Pine Gate,” said Scott Jacobs, Generate’s co-founder and CEO, in a statement.
Pine Gate was established in 2016 and has already closed over $7 billion in capital investments and project financing. With more than 100 solar facilities and more than 2 gigawatts of installed capacity, Pine Gate conducts a utility-scale solar operation. It is developing projects worth over 30 gigawatts.
Since its founding in 2014, Generate has generated more than $10 billion for investments in decarbonization. Across six sectors—power, mobility, waste, green digital, water and agriculture, and industrial decarbonization—it makes investments in and manages sustainable assets.
The assets under management of the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan total about $112 billion, encompassing several asset types and geographical areas.
HESTA presently manages around $83 billion in assets and has over a million members, almost 80% of whom are women.