Brookfield Renewable invests $1.5B in Scout Clean Energy and Standard Solar

Oct. 3, 2022
The private equity firm's development pipeline in the United States is now close to 60,000 MW and is diversified across wind, utility-scale solar, distributed generation, and energy storage

Private equity investor Brookfield Renewable and its institutional partners have added more than $1.5 billion worth of investment in wind, solar and battery storage developers in deals announced over the past week.

The Brookfield group have agreed to acquire project developer Scout Clean Energy for $1 billion and Standard Solar for $540 million. The investments will be made through the Brookfield Global Transition Fund I, which has raised $15 billion.

The Scout Clean Energy deal has potential to invest another $350 million to support the firm’s business development activities. The portfolio includes more than 1,200 MW of operating wind assets and a pipeline of more than 22,000 MW of wind, solar and storage projects across 24 states.

The wind assets include 400 MW managed for third parties and the pipeline of projects includes nearly 2,500 MW of under construction and advanced-stage projects.

The Standard Solar deal includes potential to invest another $160 million to support the business’ growth initiatives. Standard Solar has an estimated 500 MW of operating and under construction contracted assets and a pipeline of nearly 2,000 MW.

The company's projects in the U.S. including numerous community solar and power purchase deals. Standard Solar is working with a Maryland county on 1.3 MW in rooftop and carport solar to power utility operations in Anne Arundel County in Maryland, among toher deals.

Scout and Standard will continue to operate as independent businesses within the Brookfield Renewable U.S. platform.

“We are thrilled to be putting more dollars to work in our U.S. renewables business,”

Brookfield Renewable CEO Connor Teskey said. “We underwrote both transactions without the benefit of the Inflation Reduction Act so the additional incentives now available represent a significant boost to each business.”

“Our development pipeline in the United States is now close to 60,000 MW and is well diversified across wind, utility-scale solar, distributed generation, and energy storage,” Teskey added. “Combined with our existing fleet we are well positioned for continued growth as owners and operators of one of the largest diversified clean power businesses in the country.”

Brookfield Renewables has a global plan for its clean energy investing, including a goal of building 12 to 16 GW of renewable energy projects in India over the next 10 years.

The private equity firm also has announced more than 500 MW of renewable power purchase agreements with tech giant Amazon.

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(Rod Walton, senior editor for EnergyTech, is a 14-year veteran of covering the energy industry both as a newspaper and trade journalist. He can be reached at [email protected]). Follow us on Twitter @EnergyTechNews_ and @rodwaltonelp and on LinkedIn

About the Author

Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor | Senior Editor

For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].

Rod Walton has spent 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World. 

EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023

Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.