Council pension fund pumps £150m into windfarm stake

The infrastructure investment joint venture between Greater Manchester Pension Fund and London Pensions Fund Authority has entered a partnership to co-own one of the largest windfarms of its type in Europe.

The investment vehicle, GMPF & LPFA Infrastructure LLP, along with Greencoat UK Wind, will acquire 49.9% of the Clyde windfarm in South Lanarkshire from energy company SSE, which will hold the remaining 50.1%. Under the agreement GLIL will invest £150m.

Cllr Kieran Quinn, chairman of Greater Manchester Pension Fund, said: “We’re pleased to announce the next investment for GLIL, which continues to identify UK projects with attractive returns and adds to our growing renewable portfolio. Our success in this area is a testament to what we are trying to achieve across the Local Government Pension Scheme, which is closer collaboration between funds in order to realise the benefits associated with partnering. We look forward to announcing our next investment as well as working towards attracting other LGPS funds to our joint venture.”

Sir Merrick Cockell, chairman, LPFA, said: “When we launched our partnership at the start of 2015 it was to build on our beliefs that by working together we could increase our involvement in projects that provide the right returns for our members and the wider social benefit of investing directly in UK infrastructure. Along with GMPF we’re delighted that our venture continues to do so and that there is a healthy pipeline of opportunities going forward.”

Clyde is located in South Lanarkshire and consists of Clyde North, Clyde South and Clyde Central. The windfarm is the second largest UK onshore windfarm with 152 wind turbines and a combined generating capacity of approximately 350 megawatts.

Clyde started generating electricity in 2011 and is currently undergoing an extension.