The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) has committed €125 million to a new fund for renewable energy generation, energy storage solutions, and grid infrastructure.
ISIF, which is part of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), said the investment in Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners II was part of its ambition to invest €1 billion in climate-related investments over a five-year period.
This new investment brings total ISIF commitments to climate investments to €776 million since 2021, representing over 75 per cent of the overall target.
ISIF also announced €36 million of commitments into two funds targeting climate-tech and health-tech investments as part of its €50 million initiative to promote female-led investment funds.
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Foresight will focus on three sub-sectors of energy infrastructure: renewable energy generation, energy storage solutions, and grid infrastructure.
More than 70 per cent of the fund will target greenfield projects which it will aim to build and bring into commercial operation.
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Foresight is a leading investment manager in real assets and capital for growth with €14 billion in assets under management across renewable energy infrastructure and SME private equity.
Foresight is supporting the Silvermines pumped storage hydro project in Co Tipperary as well as the MaresConnect interconnector project which will further connect the Irish and UK electricity grids.
It is expected that Foresight’s Dublin office will grow further following the announcement.
Minister for Finance Michael McGrath said ISIF’s investment “will actively contribute to Ireland’s transition to low-carbon energy systems”.
ISIF director Nick Ashmore said: “This commitment is a prime example of ISIF’s ability to deploy capital in a targeted and commercial manner to tackle climate change through better technology and sustainable power sources.”
ISIF is a sovereign development fund which has a mandate to invest on a commercial basis in a manner designed to support economic activity and employment in Ireland.
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