The £4.1bn UK-based investment fund, GLIL Infrastructure, and the Bluefield Solar Income Fund (Bluefield Solar) have invested a further £141m in solar energy assets.
This investment marks the second phase of a partnership between the two funds and will see GLIL acquire a 50% stake in a 112MW portfolio currently owned by Bluefield Solar. The portfolio consists of nine operating sites in southern and central England.
The transaction, expected to be completed in mid-August, will also see GLIL, a partnership of UK pension funds, finance the building of 17MW of new assets that are expected to be grid-connected within the next 12 months.
This further £141m investment in solar assets follows the first phase of the funds’ partnership, which was the acquisition of 58 operational UK projects from Lightsource bp in December 2023. The deal saw GLIL invest £200m and Bluefield Solar invest £20m in a combined 247MW of projects.
For the third phase of the partnership, Bluefield Solar and GLIL have provisionally agreed to commit to funding a selection of Bluefield Solar’s development pipeline.
Julia Carter, deputy portfolio manager at GLIL Infrastructure, said: “Not only do these assets make a welcome addition to our growing green energy portfolio, but they maintain our strong track record of backing core UK infrastructure projects. Along with our members and Bluefield Solar, we recognise our role as custodians of the future.”
GLIL invests on behalf of Local Government Pension Scheme funds and pools, including Local Pensions Partnership Investments, Greater Manchester Pension Fund, Merseyside Pension Fund, and West Yorkshire Pension Fund. It also invests on behalf of the defined contribution pension scheme Nest.
GLIL has deployed over £3bn into renewable assets, with the fund announcing in May that it had raised a further £475m for investment in UK infrastructure.
John Scott, chairman of Bluefield Solar, said: “The cash proceeds of approximately £70m will be used prudently to reduce Bluefield Solar’s leverage while also enabling Bluefield Solar to commit further capital to Bluefield Solar’s significant proprietary development pipeline.”
