BlackRock Real Assets to acquire Korean solar power operator

BlackRock Real Assets said Wednesday it has signed an agreement to acquire an undisclosed amount of equity stake in South Korean solar aggregator and operator Brite Energy Partners.

The US-based investment firm aims to inject more than $100 million capital over time to fund the acquisition and construction of solar assets of over 350 megawatts in power generation capacity. All projects developed and acquired by Brite Energy Partners are expected to be fully contracted under 20-year terms with Korean firms, including subsidiaries of the state-owned Korea Electric Power Corp.

This is the first investment by BlackRock Real Assets targeting the small-scale solar sector in Korea, amid the nation’s move to reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent before 2030 by installing new and renewable energy infrastructure.

Earlier in July, BlackRock‘s investment arm dedicated to real assets announced the acquisition plan of Igis Private Equity and deployed $1 billion capital to support a Korean offshore wind farm project with over 2 gigawatts in capacity.

BlackRock Real Assets launched a Global Renewable Power strategy and raised $4.8 billion in April. One-third of the fund will go to climate infrastructure assets in the Asia-Pacific region.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)