Private equity giant BlackRock Real Assets has acquired New Zealand solar and energy storage provider solarZero.
BlackRock’s Climate Infrastructure, a subsidiary of BlackRock Real Assets, will provide its expertise to the New Zealand installer to support its expansion both nationwide and into other Asia-Pacific markets.
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Over the next decade, the installer will be investing US$1 billion in new solar and battery systems across New Zealand’s residential and commercial rooftop markets.
solarZero said it had built ‘the region’s largest’ virtual power plant (VPP) with its proprietary smart battery and energy management platform.
With a 40% market share in new residential rooftop solar installations in New Zealand, solarZero has nearly 9,000 residential customers generating 89GWh of solar energy and 48MWh of battery storage per year.
Charlie Reid, Asia-Pacific co-head of BlackRock’s Climate Infrastructure team, said: “Our move into New Zealand demonstrates BlackRock’s commitment to invest in attractive markets as part of our broader efforts to offer a flow of addressable global climate investment opportunities for our clients.”
BlackRock continues to increase its investments in renewables after it raised US$4.8 billion last year to fund renewable power generation projects across the globe. It also recently invested US$525 million in Indian energy giant Tata Power, which saw it acquire a 10.53% stake of the company.