Allianz Global Investors’ Allianz Renewable Energy Fund 2 has added three U.K. solar parks to its portfolio.
AREF2’s purchase of Mount Farm in the West Midlands was completed in December 2016. However, the closing of the two additional projects, “Vine Farm” and "Rose & Crown", in the East of England took place Jan. 26. The total capacity of these additions to the portfolio amounts to 100 megawatts of power.
For Armin Sandhövel, CIO for infrastructure equity at Allianz Global Investors, solar energy in the United Kingdom is an ideal addition to the portfolio.
“Regardless of any upcoming changes to the political fabric, we firmly believe in the long-term attractiveness of the British solar market. The purchase of these three solar parks is a perfect way to regionally diversify the AREF2 portfolio,” says Sandhövel.
In the past year, long-term electricity purchase agreements were negotiated for all three solar projects. The seller, BayWa r.e., will manage the commercial and technical business operations.
This U.K. solar portfolio is the third acquisition made by AllianzGI’s second closed-end renewable energy fund, following the purchase of wind farms in Germany and Sweden.
The subscription period for Allianz Renewable Energy Fund 2 ended Nov. 15, 2016. The fund has raised €350 million ($323.8 million) and will invest in European wind and solar parks on behalf of institutional investors. Once the fund is fully invested, the infrastructure equity team at Allianz Global Investors will manage around €1.6 billion ($1.7 billion) in renewable energy and infrastructure projects.
In additional news, Allianz Global Investors recently invested $300 million on behalf of its clients into the Pocahontas Parkway concession, an 8.8-mile toll road in Virginia with an 89-year concession.The AllianzGI infrastructure debt platform has made more than $2.2 billion of investment commitments to infrastructure assets in the United States over a period of 18 months.