New York-listed investment manager BlackRock and Ireland-based renewable energy developer NTR have set up a joint asset management group.
Jim Barry, chief executive of NTR, will be chief investment officer on the $110bn BlackRock Alternative Investors platform’s new renewable power investment team.
NTR will provide market perspective and insights to the renewable power investment team and will also retain an economic interest in an identified set of products on the new investment platform. Current and past renewable energy infrastructure activities of NTR have included the development of more than four gigawatts of wind and solar projects in the US and Europe, including Tessera Solar.
BlackRock previously led the $30m investment in biofuels company LS9.
Separately, Dow Chemical said it would invest $100m in internal investments in clean technology that could have a potential savings of $500m for the company along with a reduction of 400,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
And, in Taiwan, United Microelectronics’ (UMC) holding in a solar power factory in China won an operation license from the government, making it the first factory of this kind in the mainland to win operation permission. UMC owns 30% of the factory through its UMC Capital.