Asset manager Brookfield is buying National Grid’s onshore renewables business in the US for $1.7bn, highlighting its confidence in the sector despite President Donald Trump’s anti-green agenda.
London-listed National Grid put the business up for sale last year as it tries to focus on its core energy networks.
The deal comes weeks after Trump used his first week in office to halt offshore wind approvals and pause billions of dollars’ worth of incentives for green energy.
However, Brookfield president Connor Teskey told the Financial Times earlier this month it expected the president’s focus on “growth, industrialisation and American excellence” to boost demand for electricity.
The National Grid deal comprises 3.1 gigawatts of solar, onshore wind and battery storage assets, either in operation or being built.
“The scale of the demand growth requires companies to use any and all types of power-generation solutions,” he said earlier this month. “Renewables are going to benefit from that and will play a leading role because of their low-cost position.”
New York-headquartered Brookfield recently bought a majority stake in French power producer Neoen, and Teskey said it was looking for more listed companies to buy given a “large” gap between public and private valuations.
It signed a deal with Microsoft last year to develop 10.5 gigawatts of green energy capacity to help supply data centres, highlighting the surge in interest in green power from tech companies.
Announcing the sale on Monday morning, National Grid said it expected the deal would close later this year.
The FTSE 100 company owns gas and electricity networks in the US and the UK.
It is investing heavily in its electricity networks as it expects demand for electricity to rise as part of the shift towards renewables.
It raised £7bn in a rights issue in May last year to help fund the work, and also plans to sell off its liquefied natural gas terminal in the Isle of Grain, England.
The US onshore renewables business is part of its National Grid Ventures division, which sits outside its regulated networks business. For the half-year to the end of September 2024, National Grid Ventures made underlying operating profits of £147mn.
