£12.5bn Tyne and Wear Pension Fund has invested in a fleet of ships designed to bring operational support to the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, accelerating the fund’s commitments to renewable energy.
The fleet of four ships is owned by North Star, a UK offshore infrastructure support services vessel operator, and will support the Dogger Bank project by transporting engineers and technicians to the site. The Dogger Bank Wind Farm is a group of offshore wind farms located in the North Sea which is currently under development.
The Local Government Pension Scheme fund is part of pooling vehicle Border to Coast Pensions Partnership. It stated that it invested in North Star to “reinforce” its green credentials, with Tyne and Wear aiming to decarbonise its portfolio by 2050.
Tyne and Wear’s commitment to the fleet of ships was made through a $70m investment in Partners Group’s private infrastructure funds.
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Anne Walsh, chair of Tyne and Wear’s Pensions Committee, said: “The Dogger Bank Wind Farm will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm when complete. It will generate around 5% of the UK’s electricity demand – enough to power 6m homes with renewable energy – so it’s very exciting to be playing a part in funding this.
“The investment in North Star will not only help us to achieve the investment returns we need for our members’ pensions, it is also further evidence of the fund’s transition to investing in renewable energy.”
Alongside investing in North Star, Tyne and Wear has made commitments to other renewable energy products such as solar farms, with the fund planning to commit £465m to Border to Coast’s Climate Opportunities Fund by March 2025.
The Climate Opportunities Fund will invest in a range of low carbon infrastructure assets and private companies operating or promoting decarbonisation technologies, using both equity and debt investments.
