Canadian pension fund CDPQ, which has net assets of CAD $452bn, has committed an additional $575m to Énergir, a gas distribution utility in Quebec.
According to the pension fund, this further commitment will help Énergir, which has $10bn in assets, in implementing its decarbonisation strategy. A strategy which includes renewable energy projects, natural gas production plants and “dual energy” systems in Québec.
“Supporting the growth and energy transition of our portfolio companies, particularly those in Québec, are central elements of CDPQ’s strategy, and our backing of Énergir since 2004 is a good example of that,” said Emmanuel Jaclot, executive vice-president and head of infrastructure at CDPQ.
Currently, CDPQ owns an 80.9% stake of Énergir, whilst Québec-based investment fund Fonds de solidarité FTQ owns the remaining 19.1%.
“Énergir has a plan to accelerate Québec’s decarbonisation and energy transition. With this new investment, the Fonds is supporting the development of the renewable natural gas sector, which will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil sources,” added Gilles Poulin, vice-president, private equity and impact investing, aerospace, infrastructure and transportation, at the Fonds de solidarité FTQ.
However, CDPQ’s investment in Énergir has received some criticism from Coalition Sortons la Caisee de carbone.
The environmental campaign group stated that while it welcomes CDPQ’s commitment to transforming Énergir’s business model, the utility’s plan is over-reliant on unproven measures to credibly ensure its decarbonisation.
In a statement, the coalition stated that Énergir’s transition plan “overestimates” the potential of renewable natural gas production. It also criticised that the utility’s planned emission reductions, which are based on the use of low-carbon hydrogen and CO2 capture, “extremely expensive technologies whose scalability is not proven”.
Sortons la Caisse also criticised Énergir’s transition plan for being “incomplete”, stating that its climate resilience report does not meet the criteria for a credible transition plan.
