Sustainable infrastructure investments

Generate Capital, a green infrastructure investment company, announced on Monday that it has raised $2 billion in new funding.

The new funding brings the company's balance sheet close to $10bn after a $1bn round in February 2020. It is worth noting that the backers include pension funds from Australia, Sweden and the UK.

Generate is close to investment trends clean energy and infrastructure and offers both capital and expertise in operating more than 2,000 assets worldwide.

Generate's CEO said that an important feature of Generate is that it is willing to finance projects that others do not finance and consider it a risky move. It is worth noting that Generate has no time limit on its capital, so there is no incentive to make decisions with short-term goals in mind.

The company's CEO said that earnings are competitive and, he also noted the seven-fold oversubscription of all funding rounds to prove that sustainable investments do not necessarily have to sacrifice performance.

Examples of projects include a partnership with Starbucks to develop a community solar lighting project in New York City to provide solar power to the local Starbucks and the community surrounding the shop. Another example is Hillsborough County Public Schools in Tampa, Florida, which set out to reduce energy consumption, carbon emissions and electricity bills.

The school sought to reduce energy consumption, carbon footprint and energy costs. Better air conditioning and building management systems were installed and lighting was replaced with energy efficient bulbs.

Generate Capital also worked with BYD, a Chinese battery company owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, to provide electric buses to clients such as Stanford University and Facebook.