Private Equity Firm Closes $1 Billion Green Fund
ReutersDecember 3, 2009
Private equity firm Hudson Clean Energy Partners said on Thursday that it has closed its first fund, having raised more than $1 billion to invest primarily in the emerging green technology sector.
The fund's major investors include pension funds, both public and private, and financial institutions, the group told Reuters.
Investment areas that interest Hudson Clean Energy Partners are wind, solar, biomass, energy efficiency and energy storage.
The fund would look at grid-scale energy storage as well as automotive applications, said John Cavalier, managing partner.
The group, which is a late-stage expansion growth capital fund, invests about $50 million to $150 million on average in one transaction. It typically does not invest in early-stage technology.
The fund is looking to invest in about 10 to 12 green companies over the next couple of years.
Founded in 2007, Hudson Clean Energy Partners is led by Cavalier, a former vice chairman of Credit Suisse's investment banking department, and Neil Auerbach, who was previously with Goldman Sachs.
Cavalier said raising the funds was not easy, given the tough economy. "It was very challenging," he said.
Hudson's current portfolio includes Element Power, a global utility-scale wind and solar power generator; Recurrent Energy, a distributed solar power company; CaliSolar Inc, a solar photovoltaic wafer and cell manufacturer; SoloPower Inc, which makes solar photovoltaic thin-film cells, and Wind to Power Systems, a Madrid-based manufacturer of power electronics that enable connection of renewables to the grid.
