Q-Energy to sell 73 photovoltaic plants to CDPQ
Q-Energy, a global platform for investment and renewable energy management, today announced the sale of a portfolio of regulated photovoltaic solar assets to Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), a global institutional investor.
The portfolio is made up of 73 assets with a total capacity of 216 MWp located throughout Spain. These assets produce over 355,000 MWh annually, which is enough clean electricity to supply more than 115,000 households, or the equivalent consumption of cities such as Valladolid, Alicante or Córdoba in Spain.
This investment represents the first step in creating a new CDPQ platform in Spain, which will seek to aggregate further renewable assets. Following this transaction, Q-Energy will continue to provide comprehensive management of the assets, carrying out day-to-day operations, monitoring and maintenance of the 73 assets. The Q-Energy team currently manages more than 150 renewable energy plants across Spain, Italy and Germany, generating over 1,300 MW of power. On the investment side, Q-Energy has invested more than EUR 6 billion in the sector since 2007, in photovoltaic solar, concentrated solar power, and wind assets.
According to Iñigo Olaguibel, Founding Partner of Q-Energy: “This operation is in line with our wider strategy of continuous financial and operational optimization of renewable energy assets. Having CDPQ as the new owner of this portfolio is a clear example of their commitment to the renewable sector and to Spain, and is a great moment of pride for the Q-Energy team, which will continue to take care of the projects’ long-term management. At Q-Energy, we consider the sector as fundamental to ensuring a sustainable future for our society. We will continue to invest in the sector in the coming years through our new Q-Energy IV Fund, where we hope to invest another EUR 4 billion across different European geographies.”
“This first equity infrastructure investment in Spain is a milestone in the deployment of CDPQ’s long-term European infrastructure strategy,” said Emmanuel Jaclot, Executive Vice President and Head of Infrastructure at CDPQ. “With this transaction, we are laying the foundation of our renewables platform in Spain, which will allow us to progressively increase our presence in this key renewable market and achieve CDPQ’s carbon intensity reduction targets.”
This portfolio of assets was previously owned by the Q-Energy III Fund, which launched in 2018. In just two years this fund has been fully invested and is now in the process of divesting. The closing of this transaction will be finalized over the coming months. Q-Energy has been advised on this transaction by Royal Bank of Canada and Cuatrecasas, and CDPQ was advised by BNP Paribas and Watson Farley & Williams.
ABOUT Q-ENERGY
Founded in 2007, the Q-Energy team is composed of more than 160 renewable energy professionals and has invested more than EUR 6 bn in the renewable energy sector worldwide. Q-Energy’s investment has been channeled through four different investment vehicles: Fotowatio/FRV, Vela Energy, Q-Energy III and Q-Energy IV. Q-Energy also provides comprehensive investment and asset management services, applying sophisticated monitoring and control processes, as well as modern technology systems. Through this, Q-Energy manages its assets in real time achieving remarkable financial and operational efficiencies. In total, Q-Energy manages more than 1.3 GW in solar photovoltaics, 170 MW of concentrated/ thermoelectric solar power (CSP) and 130 MW of wind energy across Spain, Germany and Italy.
ABOUT CAISSE DE DÉPÔT ET PLACEMENT DU QUÉBEC
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) is a long-term institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and parapublic pension and insurance plans. As at June 30, 2020, it held CA$333.0 billion in net assets. As one of Canada’s leading institutional fund managers, CDPQ invests globally in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private debt.