Macquarie seals 'significant minority stake' in US renewables business
Deal for up to $1.73bn provides cash injection for DE Shaw to expand utility-scale wind, solar and battery storage projects
Macquarie Group’s asset management division has completed a “significant minority investment” for up to $1.73bn in the renewable energy unit of DE Shaw, a cash injection the US firm says will enhance its domestic utility-scale onshore wind, solar, and battery storage market presence.
DE Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI) is a medium-scale asset developer, owner, and operator based in New York, among the dwindling number of independent US players in an industry with a heavy European presence.
Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) is part of Australian finance giant Macquarie Group. The deal with DESRI involved several funds managed by MAM.
“This represents an important milestone in our partnership with DESRI to expand access to renewable energy,” said William Demas, head of MAM Green Investment in the Americas.
DESRI claims to have a project platform with more than 6GW of gross capacity on an alternating current basis in operation or under construction. There is also 4GW of contracted pre-construction projects and a development pipeline of more than 25GW.
DESRI has long-term PPAs in place with a diversified base of off-takers, including corporates, utilities, and co-ops in 24 states. The DESRI platform will complement MAM’s 12GW operational project capacity globally.
DE Shaw is best known as the former employer of Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.
In July 2023, DESRI made headlines when it announced financial close and began construction of a solar and battery storage facility in the US state of New Mexico that will interconnect to the electric grid using existing infrastructure from a retired coal-fired power plant.
San Juan 1 with 200MW nameplate capacity on an alternating current basis and 100MW of battery storage is located adjacent to the former San Juan plant in northwestern New Mexico. Its last two of four generating units were retired in 2022.
DESRI plans to further leverage the plant’s electrical infrastructure to double solar plant capacity to 400MW later this decade.
In October, MAM portfolio company Calibrant Energy closed the acquisition of a 100% interest in Enel X Storage, significantly expanding its distributed clean energy development pipeline and portfolio of operating assets in North America.
Transaction financial terms were not made public. Enel X Storage was part of Enel X North America, based in Massachusetts.