By Chibuike Oguh and Simon Jessop
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Private equity firm Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) Inc said on Thursday it has invested $350 million to acquire a majority stake in renewable energy developer Aspen Power Partners LLC.
Carlyle said its investment will fund the expansion of Aspen Power, which is aiming to acquire renewable energy projects across the United States. Dallas, Texas-based Aspen Power had agreed in September to acquire solar power developer Safari Energy LLC from electricity giant PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL).
"This investment is in a platform that will be entirely vertically integrated in the distributed generation space, which includes community, commercial and industrial, and sub-utility solar," Pooja Goyal, chief investment officer of Carlyle Infrastructure, told Reuters in an interview.
Aspen Power provides financing for the development, construction and operation of renewable energy projects, including solar and storage installations. The company has financed renewable projects worth more than $2 billion, according to its website.
"This platform will be able to do everything from origination, underwriting, installation, and even asset management," Pooja added.
Carlyle Infrastructure has about $15 billion in assets under management spread across power, energy, transportation, digital, water, transportation and renewable energy sectors. In August, Carlyle invested an undisclosed amount in green hydrogen developer Eneus Energy Limited alongside Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC.