Axium Infrastructure, an infrastructure portfolio management firm, has acquired an equity interest in two natural gas–fired generation assets. The portfolio includes the Kings Mountain Energy Center and the Middletown Energy Center, which are currently under construction in North Carolina and Ohio, respectively.
Axuim acquired equity interests in the portfolio from Capital Dynamics, a global asset manager that invests in private equity as well as clean energy and infrastructure. Axium will own an approximately 25.0 percent equity interest in the Kings Mountain Energy Center and an approximately 19.6 percent equity interest in the Middletown Energy Center.
The two projects will use Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems combined-cycle technology. The projects are expected to begin operations in 2018 and will have a combined total capacity of 948 megawatts. The projects will be managed by affiliates of NTE Energy, an independent power producer responsible for the development and ongoing construction and asset management for each of the projects.
“We continue to grow our U.S. investment portfolio, which now includes 20 assets diversified across wind, solar and natural gas power generation technologies,” says Thierry Vandal, president of Axium Infrastructure U.S.
With the acquisition, Capital Dynamics now has a global portfolio of gas, wind and solar plants that exceeds 2,300 megawatts, according to John Breckenridge, head of clean energy and infrastructure investment management at Capital Dynamics.
Targeting both brownfield and greenfield investment opportunities, Axium Infrastructure seeks to invest in core energy, transportation and social infrastructure assets in Canada and the United States, according to the firm’s website.Axium had approximately C$2 billion ($1.5 billion) in assets under management as of Dec. 31, 2016, as well as more than C$1 billion ($750 million) in co-investments.
In other energy portfolio transactions, Axium acquired an 84-megawatt solar portfolio from Renewable Energy Trust Capital in November 2016. The portfolio comprises eight solar photovoltaic facilities: two in California, three in Georgia, and three in Ontario, Canada. The facilities reached commercial operations between 2012 and 2015, and each utilizes Tier-1 solar photovoltaic modules and inverters. Each plant operates under a long-term, fixed-price contract with an investment-grade utility.