February 2016 Issue
BlackRock forms new real assets group
Head of infrastructure Jim Barry will helm the new unit, which combines the firm’s infrastructure and real estate platforms, reports Chase Collum
A clear path to clean energy
COP21 is a historic agreement. But is it the starting point for renewable energy investment or an additional building block to the foundations already laid down by the private sector? Kalliope Gourntis reports
A painful correction
Have recent market upheavals forced a much-needed reconciliation of the US yieldco market? Chase Collum finds out
Moving targets
With demand now set artificially by government, Hogan Lovells’ Carlos Ramos and Miguel S. Mateo take us through Mexico’s recent energy reform and what it means for clean energy
The great build-out
The Indian government’s target of adding 100GW of solar by 2022 has captured the world’s attention. But Siddharth Poddar finds the winds of opportunity are also blowing
Land of the setting sun
Japan’s solar boom appears to be over, with grid bottlenecks and geographic hurdles translating into little expected capacity after 2017, writes Nia Tam
Unfulfilled promise
Nia Tam tours South-East Asia and finds positive developments in the renewable energy sector. Turning them into successful investment opportunities will not be easy, though
The force awakens
Powerful, scalable and reliable, offshore wind is seducing many European governments. Matthieu Favas explains why its future as an investor favourite is probably not far, far away
Revolutionising the grid
Richard Kauffman, New York’s energy ‘tsar’, tells Jordan Stutts why the electric grid is ripe for transformation to accommodate the distributed energy revolution brought about by clean energy
‘You cannot take the politics out of infrastructure’
Sir John Armitt tells Bruno Alves what we can expect from the National Infrastructure Commission and how the lessons learnt from the London Olympics can help with procurement
Seizing the infra opportunity
We ask Hamilton Lane vice president Lars Pace to take us through what LPs should be looking out for before investing in infrastructure GPs and the asset class in general
Not so calm before the storm
Fundraising eased a little last year while still posting very healthy figures. But that’s all coming before what looks set to be a bumper year for asset managers, writes Matthieu Favas
Introducing surety to the US P3 market
Faced with liquidity pressure spurred on by letter of credit requirements on US P3s, in-market contractors are turning back to surety. Chase Collum reports
Unpacking the CalPERS decision
Bruno Alves argues that CalPERS’ decision to prioritise seperate accounts highlights infrastructure managers’ongoing existential crisis, with LPs eschewing blind pool funds in favour of structures where they have greater control. But Anbaric founder and chief executive Ed Krapels goes further, arguing CalPERS and its peers should seriously consider direct investments in development-oriented platform companies instead to boost their exposure to the assset class
Making a big deal of small print(1)
Pipelines and telecom towers will feature prominently on investors’ radars this year. Whether they deliver on their promise will depend on the contracts they are operating under
Restoring the promise
The US Transport Secretary sets the stage for more P3s.
Striking a balance
While most of the world celebrated the agreement reached at COP21, a portion of US lawmakers and industry leaders strongly expressed their opposition. Kalliope Gourntis investigates the great divide