Australian company to invest in US renewable energy industries

AMP Capital Investors Ltd, the Sydney-based company, is planning further investments in U.S. energy industries after putting money into the country’s renewable energy industry for the first time.

AMP, managing about $130 billion in funds, is looking back U.S. industries including wind energy, gas-fired power projects and pipelines.

This week, AMP announced a $100 million investment in United States wind energy developer Capistrano Wind Partners LLC and AMP plans further wind transactions with the Capistrano partners. Capistrano owns five operating wind farms in Nebraska, Texas and Wyoming with 413 megawatts of generating capacity, according to AMP.

U.S. gas and power assets, including infrastructure that needs to be built because of a surge in shale production, are areas that may attract AMP’s investment, Beaumont said without discussing specific investment prospects in the country.

AMP Capital has made four renewable energy investments of nearly $250 million, including the Capistrano deals. One AMP fund last year acquired a stake in Indian clean-energy company Shalivahana Green Energy Ltd for nearly $30 million, while another in 2012 acquired a controlling stake in a group of wind farms in Ireland.

U.S. developers added a record 13.1 gigawatts of new wind power last year, up 98 per cent from 2011, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. U.S. wind beat gas in 2012 to become the largest new source of power generation for the first time.

Long-term power-purchase agreements of 20 years to 25 years and financing available to develop projects are among the factors making its wind investment attractive, Beaumont said.