First Reserve
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Felicity Carus discovers why one of the world’s biggest energy investors is putting its weight behind solar power
F
irst Reserve has been one of the world’s leading investors in the energy industry for the past 25
years. In that time, the energy sector has changed dramatically: the search for new reserves of fossil fuels has become more diffi cult, equipment has become more sophisticated and pressure on fi nding sources of cleaner energy has increased. The diversity in First Reserve’s investments refl ects those changes. Although companies that supply equipment or services to the oil and gas sector still dominate First Reserve’s portfolio, the private equity and energy infrastructure investor has made a serious shift to solar power in the last three years. With $20bn now under management, First Reserve’s position as a heavyweight in energy investments is assured. First Reserve bought the solar division of Gamesa, Spain’s most successful renewables manufacturer and developer, in 2008 and merged it with an Italian company, Ener3. The investment was valued at more than $408m and 9REN, the resulting company, now has 137MW of photovoltaic plants in Spain and Italy. In 2009, the private equity investor
opened the First Reserve Energy Infrastructure Fund, now in the closing stages of its debut fundraising of more than
First Reserve’s solar plant in Rovigo, bought from SunEdison for $382m
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As First Reserve gears up to invest $1bn from its energy infrastructure fund, how much of it they use to turn photons into profi ts will be closely watched
ISSUE 02. JUNE 2011
$1bn. In May of last year, First Reserve and SunEdison, the development division of solar technology specialist MEMC Electronic Materials based in Missouri, entered into one of the largest worldwide energy infrastructure enterprises for long-term solar photovoltaic (PV) projects. The joint venture will allow First Reserve to acquire SunEdison’s PV projects. The deal was announced late last year, with First Reserve purchasing Europe’s largest solar power plant, the 70MW installation in Rovigo, Italy, for €276m ($382).
Solar growth Mark Florian, the managing director at First Reserve Energy Infrastructure, said that solar photovoltaic assets are attractive because they are based on mature technologies and long-term contracts. He recently told Infrastructure Journal: “We defi nitely are a fan of that type
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