Longroad gets fresh capital to support 8.5-GW renewables ambition

US renewables developer Longroad Energy Holdings LLC said on Monday it has secured USD 500 million (EUR 488.5m) in equity investments from existing and new shareholders to back a massive expansion of its wind, solar and storage project portfolio to 8.5 GW over the next five years.

Boston, Massachusetts-based Longroad currently has a 1.5-GW portfolio of owned renewable energy assets across the US and has an additional 3.5 GW of projects under management. The company is in the process of transitioning from a "develop to sell" business model to a strategy that focuses on asset ownership.

In the latest financing round, Meag, the asset management arm of German reinsurer Munich Re (ETR:MUV2), has agreed to buy a 12% stake in Longroad Energy in return for a USD-300-million investment in the US firm. Meanwhile, existing investors Infratil Ltd (NZE:IFT) and NZ Super Fund, a sovereign wealth fund in New Zealand, have each invested an additional USD 100 million to keep a 37% shareholding in Longroad, Infratil said separately.

The remaining 14% interest in the US business is owned by Longroad Energy Partners LLC.

"This important infusion provides Longroad with the capital to rapidly transition to a strategy biased to asset ownership. It also will fuel It also will fuel our acquisition goals and continue to support our investments in adjacent sectors, [..]," said Paul Gaynor, CEO of Longroad.

At present, Longroad has a development pipeline consisting of roughly 15 GW of wind, solar and storage projects across 13 US states.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.977)

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