SEEIT is pleased to announce that it has acquired an additional 15% interest in Primary Energy, a portfolio of recycled energy and cogeneration projects located in Indiana, USA, from a consortium led by Fortistar LLC (”Fortistar”) for an equity cash consideration of approximately $36 million. 

SEEIT acquired an initial 50% interest in Primary Energy in February 2020. Following this acquisition, SEEIT’s interest in Primary Energy is now 65%. SEEIT has also agreed terms under which it could increase its stake and further enhance returns for shareholders.

The 298MW portfolio consists of five operating projects which generate low-cost, efficient energy with substantial environmental benefits via three recycled energy projects, one natural gas combined heat and power project and a 50% interest in an industrial process efficiency project.  

The portfolio projects are located within the Indiana Harbor Works and involve two of the most efficient and advanced steel mills in the United States. Four of the five projects relate to steel mills that are now owned by Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (”Cleveland-Cliffs”) following its acquisition of ArcelorMittal USA, making Cleveland-Cliffs the largest flat-rolled steel producer as well as the largest iron ore pellet producer in North America. One of the five projects services Midwest Steel, a subsidiary of United States Steel Corporation. The projects are fully integrated into the steel mill facilities, including fuel handling and emissions control equipment and systems that are critical for the operations of the facilities.

The acquisition is funded from existing cash reserves. Primary Energy’s existing project debt finance facilities, which are equivalent to c.$186 million, will remain in place.

Commenting on the acquisition, Jonathan Maxwell, CEO of Sustainable Development Capital LLP, said: “We are pleased that SEEIT is increasing its stake in Primary Energy, which provides critical and cost-effective low carbon energy services to key industrial sites. Industrial energy efficiency is a key focus for SEEIT and is a major source of greenhouse gas emission reductions as well as productivity gains. The investment follows a period of substantial growth and diversification in SEEIT’s investment portfolio and is made within the context of an improved market background and outlook”.

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SEEIT is pleased to announce that it has agreed to acquire a series of portfolios of commercial and industrial (“C&I”) on-site solar and energy storage projects in the United States, together with a 50% interest in the platform that has created them, Onyx Renewable Partners (“Onyx”) from funds managed by Blackstone (”Blackstone”) for a consideration of approximately $150 million. Blackstone will remain a 50% partner in Onyx.

SEEIT will acquire a 100% interest in four portfolios totalling over 175 MW, which provide renewable energy generated on-site directly to the end-user, and a 50% interest in Onyx’s follow-on pipeline, which is projected to exceed 500MW over the next 5 years. The four portfolios comprise over 200 operational, construction and development stage rooftop, carport and ‘private wire’ ground mounted solar PV projects, located in 18 US states. Clients include municipalities, universities, schools, hospitals, military housing providers, utilities and corporates.

The operational projects are contracted under long-term power purchase agreements with predominantly investment grade C&I counterparties. At present c.27% of the portfolio (by installed MWs) are operational or near operational, with the remainder expected to become fully operational over the next 12 to 18 months. All projects benefit from robust contracts as to construction and operations with experienced EPC and O&M subcontractors.

Onyx has a highly experienced and dedicated project development and asset management team based in New York. It will develop and manage further C&I on-site solar and energy storage projects in the United States, which SEEIT will have a right of first refusal to purchase at a pre-agreed rate of return. The investment provides SEEIT with a substantial initial portfolio and a scalable pipeline of opportunities in a major growth market. It also has strong diversification benefits with investments being made in portfolios of projects, including smaller projects under 5 MW as well as larger projects of 5 to 15+ MW.

The Onyx projects are well aligned to SEEIT’s investment policy as they increase the supply of renewable energy generated on-site and help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions arising from the supply, distribution and consumption of energy. They deliver cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy solutions directly to the end user. The investment will help SEEIT to achieve its total returns targets – offering the opportunity for capital growth from the pipeline as well as income – and to support its progressive dividend policy.

The acquisition will be funded from existing cash reserves and debt facilities. Onyx’s existing project debt finance facilities, which are equivalent to c.£27 million at acquisition, will remain in place.

Completion of the acquisition is expected in the coming weeks, after satisfaction of certain customary conditions and consents.

Commenting on the acquisition, Jonathan Maxwell, CEO of Sustainable Development Capital LLP, said: “We are delighted to further diversify the SEEIT portfolio through the acquisition of these on-site solar and storage projects and to partner with Blackstone in one of the largest sustainable energy initiatives of its kind in the United States. The projects will make a meaningful impact to reduce the carbon footprint of commercial and industrial clients across the United States by providing cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy directly at the point of use and is strongly aligned with SEEIT’s investment policy and objectives, as well as the global climate policy agenda.”

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If sustainable investing reached a high-water mark in 2020, then the level of investor enthusiasm shows no sign of receding in 2021. But a new force is looming on the horizon: EU regulators and the incoming sustainable finance package.

Institutional investors – notably publicly-backed pension funds – are more vocal than ever before about their commitment to sustainability. And they are being heard – given the vast amounts of capital they supply to Wall Street and the City. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues have become a prerequisite for investing, and in no year has that been clearer than in 2020.

“In our experience, in terms of the intensity of interest from investors and also the requirement of investors to evidence ESG performance, I’d say 2020 bears no real comparison to 2019 or 2018,” says Jonathan Maxwell, chief executive and founder of London-based Sustainable Development Capital LLP (SDCL).

“There would be plenty of investors with us that could not, and would not, have invested had it not been an ESG-compliant proposition. And that is completely different from the world two years ago.”

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