Investments in renewable energies

To meet the target of limiting global warming to less than 1.5% by 2050, the proportion of renewables in the overall energy mix needs to be increased substantially at the expense of fossil energy sources.

The EIA expects renewable energies to increase from a 20% share of power generation at present to around 50% in 2050. PUBLICA is playing its part in this development by investing directly in renewable energies in its private infrastructure portfolio.

To date, PUBLICA has supplied over CHF 198 million in debt capital for the direct financing of infrastructure projects worldwide to generate electricity from natural resources. This has been used to part-finance various projects, including some in the wind and solar sector, providing total power generation capacity of around 4.7 GW.

In the process of building up the portfolio, further projects are reviewed on an ongoing basis and additional funding is supplied when the risk-return characteristics are appropriate. Investments are globally diversified in order to reduce both regulatory and resource risks. The aim of funding these infrastructure projects is to generate long-term, constant income while minimising dependence on the economic cycle.

Examples of direct financing by PUBLICA:

Sector
Wind

Region
UK

Year of investment
2018

Project status
Scheduled to commence operations in 2020

Project description
Offshore wind farm comprising 174 7.0 MW turbines generating a total output of 1,218 MW – enough to meet the electricity needs of around 1 million households.

Sector
Solar

Region
USA

Year of investment
2016

Project status
In operation since 2016

Project description
Portfolio comprising six solar farms in California generating a total output of 111 MW.