A controlling interest in US developer Mission Clean Energy has been acquired for an undisclosed sum by alternative asset management group Wafra.
Mission Clean Energy is a recently launched company developing clean energy projects, focusing manly on utility-scale solar PV and battery storage. It has a claimed pipeline of 3GW of projects in various North American territories.
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CEO Max Bakker was a founder of consultancy Atlas Renewable Power, which to date has partnered with clients developing more than 100 solar and battery plants in 40 US states, representing over 11GW of projects. It played a direct role in originating and developing over 500MW of operational or contracted solar PV projects within that figure.
The latest in what appears to be a growing trend of acquisitions and equity investment deals in the US clean energy sector, Wafra invested into the utility-scale developer together with sustainable infrastructure investor Aggregate Power Infrastructure. Activity in the sector is expected to ramp up much more since the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed into law a couple of months ago.
“The business case for renewables and storage has never been stronger. Wafra is a well-capitalised, collaborative partner that shares our vision of driving the energy transition and, creating positive impacts on local communities while decarbonising the grid,” Mission Clean Energy’s Max Bakker said.
Global alternative asset manager Wafra has around US$32 billion assets under management, including real estate, real assets and financial services. Wafra managing director Edward Tsai said the company sees “a significant market opportunity for solar and battery storage infrastructure in the United States as demand for renewable energy continues to grow”.
Tsai said the track record of Mission Clean Energy’s team in developing renewable energy projects was “impressive,” including their approach to market entry, site selection, and project development.
Last week, another US solar and battery developer, Pivot Energy, secured a US$100 million credit facility with debt finance provider Fundamental Renewables for a three-year term.
