BlackRock Real Assets makes first Korean solar investment

BlackRock Real Assets, a unit of the world’s largest asset manager BlackRock Inc., has acquired an unspecified stake in Brite Energy Partners (BEP), a South Korean solar energy development and investment company.

Under the deal, BlackRock Real Assets will be investing more than $100 million over time to fund BEP’s acquisition and construction of small-scale solar assets in Korea amounting to over 350 MW in power generation capacity, the company said on Wednesday.

This marks the affiliate’s first investment in Korea’s solar power sector as part of BlackRock’s $4.8 billion Global Renewable Power fund.

BlackRock Real Assets said more than one-third of the fund is marked for investments in climate infrastructure assets in the Asia-Pacific region.

“We are delighted to work with BEP on this exciting transaction, which represents a key milestone for us in Korean solar investments,” Charlie Reid, managing director of BlackRock Renewable Power, said in a statement.

All projects to be developed and acquired by BEP will be fully contracted under 20-year agreements with subsidiaries of state-run Korean Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) and Korean firms that are members of the Climate Group’s global RE100 initiative.

“We are bringing together unrivaled industry expertise and insights as well as financial capacity unmatched in the Korean solar industry,” said Heeseong Brian Kim, chief executive and founder of BEP.

Korea’s solar market is the world’s sixth-largest and this makes it a priority investment market for BlackRock Real Assets, according to BlackRock.

Korea aims to reduce carbon emissions by 40% before 2030, and expects to install 30 GW of new renewable generation capacity by 2025, with solar energy taking up the majority of the addition. That means at least 6 GW a year of additional solar power generators until then.

Last month, BlackRock Real Assets also acquired a 100% equity stake in Korea Renewable Energy Development & Operation Holdings Co. (KREDO Holdings), previously known as IGIS Private Equity.

That’s the company’s first investment in Korea’s offshore wind power sector.

BLACKROCK’S GLOBAL ESG INITIATIVE

With $8.68 trillion in assets under management, BlackRock has aggressively pursued ESG-themed investments across the globe under its Chairman and CEO Larry Fink since last year.

In April this year, BlackRock Real Assets raked in $4.8 billion for its third Global Renewable Power Fund (GRP III) after receiving commitments from over 100 institutional investors at its final close.

Korean investors also joined the BlackRock GRP III fund.

In April, Korea Transportation Asset Management (KOTAM) raised $185 million from five domestic institutional investors to commit to the BlackRock renewable energy fund.

GRP III also plans to invest in supporting infrastructure, including energy storage, distribution and electrified transport.

Write to A-Young Yoon at youngmoney@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.