Danish CIP's new energy fund starts with EUR 1.2bn of commitments

March 21 (Renewables Now) - Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has launched a new fund to invest in renewable energy and grids -- Copenhagen Infrastructure III, and it has already secured DKK 8.8 billion (USD 1.27bn/EUR 1.18bn) in commitments.

The anchor investors are Kommunal Landspensjonskasse (KLP) from Norway, and Denmark’s Lægernes Pension, Juristernes og Okonomernes Pernsionskasse (JØP), PensionDanmark, and Danske civil- og akademiIngeniorers Pensionskasse (DIP).

Like CIP’s previous funds, Copenhagen Infrastructure III will invest in energy infrastructure with stable returns, such as on- and offshore wind farms, solar photovoltaic (PV) parks, biomass power plants and transmission grids, among other focus areas. Geographically, the 20-year “build-and-hold” fund will be mainly invested in assets in Northern and Western Europe and North America.

CIP said it has already identified several “attractive exclusive investment opportunities”, but it does not mention more details in its press release from Thursday.

“The energy infrastructure market currently shows an attractive growth due to the strong commercial breakthrough recently in several renewable energy technologies,” said senior partner Christian Skakkebaek.

CIP has three funds under management with a roughly DKK-25-billion commitment. Its Copenhagen Infrastructure II fund acquired last year 516 MW of onshore wind projects in Texas, and an offshore wind energy lease south of Massachusetts, among other investments.

(DKK 10 = USD 1.44/EUR 1.34)