Encavis opens EUR-600m renewables fund with BayernLB

November 18 (Renewables Now) - The asset management arm of German solar and wind farm operator Encavis AG (ETR:ECV) and local lender BayernLB have set up a fund that will seek to invest in renewable energy and battery storage technologies across Europe.

Encavis Asset Management (Encavis AM) said on Wednesday that the initial plan is to raise some EUR 600 million (USD 625.3m), with the option to expand to EUR 1.2 billion, which will be channeled into wind and solar parks, energy storage facilities and possibly power-to-gas solutions. The investors of the Encavis Infrastructure Fund V (EIF V) will be insurance companies, pension funds and retirement funds. The annual distribution will be around 6%-8% on average over the 25-year lifetime of the fund.

The new vehicle was launched with seed funding of EUR 50 million by OMP Capital, which is majority owned by Nordic private equity investor HitecVision.

“The aim is to establish a future-proof portfolio of assets that will supply European markets with green energy on a sustainable basis,” Encavis AM said.

The asset manager will take care of selecting, auditing and operating the wind and solar assets for the new fund, while BayernLB will be responsible for soliciting investors. BayernInvest Luxembourg SA will be the fund manager.

EIV V will be a sister fund of EIF IV, which was launched in September 2021 and caters exclusively to banks.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.042)