| Macquarie will spin off its 15 gigawatt pipeline of offshore wind farms worldwide into a separate company, as it looks to diversify its capital sources and partners in pursuit of more projects.
Macquarie has poached Jonathan Cole, head of offshore wind at rival infrastructure player Iberdrola, as CEO of the new company. The chairman will be GIG offshore wind specialist Samuel Leupold. In April, GIG shifts into Macquarie’s asset management division, aligning the former publicly owned UK investment bank more closely with Macquarie’s funds management and investment businesses.Offshore wind capacity will have to rise tenfold to 228 gigawatts by 2030 from 23 gigawatts in 2018, and will approach 1000 gigawatts by 2050, the International Renewable Energy Agency says.
“Offshore wind is going to play an important role in the overall mix of renewable energy sources that support Australia’s transition to a lower-carbon economy,” said Anthony Lamb, co-head of GIG’s Asia-Pacific offshore wind business.