Aligned Climate Capital has held the first close of a new infrastructure fund targeting $500m (£370m) for investments in distributed solar and energy storage projects across the US.
Aligned Solar Partners 7 (ASP7) will acquire construction-ready solar and storage projects from development partners, finance their construction and manage the assets through operations.
ASP7 is the seventh infrastructure fund in the strategy, which Aligned has operated since 2018. The first close includes commitments from existing investors in Aligned’s Solar Partners strategy, including the Bush Foundation.
The firm said it had acquired 56 projects across 10 US states through its ASP funds, and projects in its operating portfolio have generated more than 218 GWh of clean energy.
Recent investments include construction financing for two community solar projects in Delaware and the acquisition of a community solar project in Illinois.
Brendon Reay, managing director of investments at the Bush Foundation, said: “We believe investment capital can support meaningful climate solutions while advancing our long-term investment objectives.
“Our investment in Aligned’s distributed solar and storage infrastructure strategy reflects our commitment to impactful sustainability solutions.”
Peter Davidson, chief executive of Aligned Climate Capital, said distributed solar and energy storage were among the fastest ways of adding capacity to the US power grid.
“These projects need specialised financing and execution, which is what we have built the firm to do,” he added. “The continued support from our investors gives us the capital to keep acquiring and building construction-ready projects.”
Solar and energy storage now account for the majority of new power capacity being built in the US, the firm said in a release.
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