Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CPDQ), a long-term institutional investor, has announced that it will provide CA$150 million (~$114 million) in debt financing to ContourGlobal.

ContourGlobal is a platform for acquiring and developing energy assets with long-term contracts across the world. It will use the financing from CPDQ to acquire a portfolio of concentrated solar power (CSP) assets in Spain.

ContourGlobal recently completed the acquisition of Acciona Energía’s 250 MW portfolio of five 50 MW CSP plants in South-West Spain for €962 million (~$1120.68 million) in May 2018.

“We are pleased to contribute to the global clean energy transition by helping companies like ContourGlobal increase their presence in the renewable energy sector. ContourGlobal’s acquisition added 250MW of solar energy to its portfolio, more than tripling its solar capacity,” said Marc Cormier, Executive Vice-President of CDPQ.

CDPQ has actively participated in many solar energy related investment in last two years. It gave CA$50.4 million (~$38.29 million) to a leading US residential solar industry, Sunrun. It also acquired a minority stake in Azure, an Indian solar company.

Subsequently, it is planning to invest in the largest private multi-family residential rooftop solar project at New York City’s Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village.

Many professional investment companies are now looking to diversify their portfolios, and investment in renewable assets has proved attractive as the sector is rapidly expanding.

Recently, Mercom reported that the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), a public pension fund, would foray issue green bonds. This would make CPPIB the first pension fund to issue green bonds.

In April 2018, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) undertook stake in a Yoma Strategic Holdings project to power rural communities in Myanmar. It would raise up to $28 million through equity and debt financing and has been supported by Canada’s contribution to the IFC-Canada Climate Change Program.

Nitin is a staff reporter at Mercomindia.com and writes on renewable energy and related sectors. Prior to Mercom, Nitin has worked for CNN IBN, India News, Agricultural Spectrum and Bureaucracy Today. He received his bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Communication from Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal University and Master’s degree in International Relations from Jindal School of International Affairs. More articles from Nitin Kabeer