London-based infrastructure investor Actis has launched a $500 million, Japan-focused renewables platform called Nozomi Energy, which will target 1.1 GW of onshore wind and solar power generation by 2027.
Financing for Nozomi Energy will come from Actis’ fifth and latest energy infrastructure fund, which has $6 billion of investable capital, Actis said in a statement on Tuesday. The platform will have a dedicated team, which will be led by Jose Antonio Millan Ruano, the former President & CEO of Hinode Energy.
Nozomi Energy will make its first investment by acquiring a 100% stake in Hergo Japan Energy from the renewable energy developer Infrastrutture S.p.A. Hergo Japan Energy’s portfolio includes solar and onshore wind projects totalling 230MW.
Hergo’s CEO Minoru Saito will remain with the new platform as vice-chairman and head of wind at Nozomi.
“Japan has challenging but critical emission reduction targets and Nozomi will play an important role in enabling the country to achieve them,” said Jun Ohashi, Head of Actis Japan.
Actis opened an office in Japan and made two senior hires last year as it committed almost $500 million in the country over the next 4-5 years.
The company had filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise a new private equity fund, to focus on Asia’s climate transition, in February this year.
The filing came less than a year after Actis closed its second Asia real estate fund at $700 million. The total commitments into Actis Asia Real Estate 2 (AARE2) comprised limited partner funds and co-investment commitments, the company had said.