Rise Fund buys solar plants from Chinese developer

The assets – located in Spain, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico – will anchor a new platform called Matrix Renewables. The investment vehicle is controlled by the first and second iterations of The Rise Fund. The first closed at $2 billion in 2017 and the second had raised $1.7 billion against a target of $2.5 billion as of October last year. TPG and The Rise Fund are assembling a management team for Matrix Renewables, to be based in Madrid.

The deal includes 35 solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant projects, according to a Trina filing. Some of these assets are currently operational; the rest are under construction or nearing ready-to-build status, with Trina contracted to see the projects through. The Rise Fund will make payments in three phases: 25% upfront, 45% when a project is connected to the grid, and 30% when it is operational.

“The global solar PV market continues to grow rapidly as it benefits from a number of secular tailwinds including the accelerating shift to decarbonization. Solar PV development is one of the many ways The Rise Fund is tackling climate change and addressing the climate, energy, and responsible consumption-focused United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,” said Steve Ellis, co-managing partner of The Rise Fund, in a statement.

Trina was founded in 1997 and listed in the US in 2006. The company was privatized three years ago at a valuation of $1.1 billion and then returned to public ownership in June, raising RMB2.3 billion ($325 million) through an offering on the Science & Technology Innovation Board (Star Market). Revenue came to RMB23.4 billion in 2019, down 7.7% year-on-year, while net profit rose 22.6% to RMB702 million.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Cleantech
• Infrastructure
• Buyouts
• China
• TPG Capital
• Impact investment
• energy