Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Canadian investment group Brookfield is buying National Grid’s onshore renewables business in the US for $1.7bn, highlighting its confidence in the sector despite Donald Trump’s anti-green agenda.
London-listed National Grid put the business up for sale last year as it tries to focus on its core energy networks.
The deal comes weeks after Donald Trump used his first week in office to halt offshore wind approvals and pause billions of dollars’ worth of incentives for green energy.
However, Brookfield president Connor Teskey told the Financial Times earlier this month it expected the president’s focus on “growth, industrialisation and American excellence” to boost demand for electricity.
The National Grid deal comprises 3.1 gigawatts of solar, onshore wind and battery storage assets either in operation or being built.
“The scale of the demand growth requires companies to use any and all types of power generation solutions,” he said. “Renewables are going to benefit from that and will play a leading role because of their low-cost position.”
Brookfield has recently bought a majority stake in French power producer Neoen, and Teskey added that it was looking for more listed companies to buy given a “large” gap between public and private valuations.
