BlackRock targets batteries in $NZ2b Kiwi climate fund
Giant investor BlackRock has singled out large-scale battery storage and electric vehicle charging infrastructure among priority near-term investments for a new $NZ2 billion ($1.86 billion) fund that will invest in infrastructure to underpin New Zealand’s goal for a fully renewables-powered grid by 2030.
The fund, which BlackRock says is its largest single-nation decarbonisation investment initiative to date, has been created on behalf of the firm’s institutional clients, including the New Zealand government.
The first investment is expected to be made by the end of 2023, and the funds be deployed over the next two years, with returns targeted in the upper single-digit range, as demanded by investors in transition infrastructure, said Charlie Reid, co-head of climate infrastructure in Asia-Pacific for BlackRock.
BlackRock is involved with the Waratah Super Battery in NSW, which will rank among the biggest grid-scale batteries anywhere in the world.
New Zealand currently has an 83 per cent penetration rate of renewable energy in its electricity usage, helped by its huge hydropower resources and its geothermal capacity. Its goal of reaching 100 per cent – on the way to its target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 – is estimated to require some $NZ42 billion of investment in renewable power generation and distribution, as well as battery storage.
BlackRock chair and head in the Asia-Pacific region, Rachel Lord, said the initiative with the New Zealand government is a powerful example of the public and private sectors joining forces to mobilise capital for the energy transition.
Mr Reid said New Zealand offered interesting investment opportunities with appropriate returns as the country deployed innovative options to
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