Energir attracts USD-425m investment for decarbonisation strategy

Energir’s existing investors, Canadian institutional investor CDPQ and development capital fund Fonds de solidarite FTQ, have poured an additional CAD 575 million (USD 425.4m/EUR 383.4m) into the energy group to support its decarbonisation and resilience strategy, the parties announced jointly.

The funds will be allocated towards various initiatives within the strategy, such as developing renewable energy projects and renewable natural gas production plants, pursuing the deployment of dual energy in Quebec and the Zero Outages Initiative of its subsidiary, Green Mountain Power, in Vermont.

"Supporting the growth and energy transition of our portfolio companies, particularly those in Quebec, are central elements of CDPQ's strategy, and our backing of Energir since 2004 is a good example of that," said Emmanuel Jaclot, executive vice-president and head of infrastructure at CDPQ.

"Energir has a plan to accelerate Quebec's decarbonisation and energy transition. With this new investment, the Fonds is supporting the development of the renewable natural gas sector, which will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil sources," added Gilles Poulin, vice-president for private equity and impact investing in aerospace, infrastructure and transportation at Fonds de solidarite FTQ.

Energir is a major gas distribution company in Quebec. It is also active in the US where it produces hydro, wind and solar sources. In the state of Vermont, the company also distributes electricity. Overall, it has more than CAD 10 billion in assets and serves 535,000 customers.

In April, the company reported significant progress on its decarbonisation strategy, announcing that all new customers that wish to connect to its network for the first time must be powered by 100% renewable energy. The new clients have the option to choose between dual energy-renewable natural gas or RNG.

(CAD 1 = USD 0.740/EUR 0.667)

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