Captive insurance structures are emerging as a critical tool for financing renewable energy infrastructure as the global shift towards low-carbon power accelerates, according to a new industry report.
The report, titled Future Energy Finance: How Captives Are Powering Renewables Growth, was produced by Captive Intelligence in partnership with AXA XL and Aon. It examines how alternative risk financing mechanisms can help organisations navigate the financial and technical complexities of the energy transition.
The International Energy Agency projects that global renewable capacity will increase by 4,600 GW by 2030 – equivalent to adding the combined power generation capacity of China, the European Union, and Japan to the global mix. Solar PV is expected to account for nearly 80% of that growth.
The report arrives as the broader renewable energy insurance market is undergoing rapid expansion. According to Research and Markets, the market was valued at approximately $18.96 billion in 2025 and is forecast to reach $20.03 billion in 2026, representing a compound annual growth rate of 5.6%.
As renewables expand, grid infrastructure in many regions is ageing and constrained, with networks not originally designed to handle large volumes of intermittent renewable power. Grid congestion is emerging as a key challenge for developers and policymakers.
Against that backdrop, the report identifies captives as well-positioned to address several industry pressures. Emerging technologies such as battery storage and floating offshore wind are scaling quickly but introduce new risk profiles, with limited claims history and evolving data, making these risks more difficult to assess during early deployment stages. Policy and regulatory dynamics also remain an important factor shaping the renewables landscape.
Vicky Roberts-Mills, global head of energy transition at AXA XL, said captives offer a flexible platform for managing risks across the value chain. “By 2030, global renewable capacity is expected to increase by 4,600 GW, with solar and wind technologies leading the charge, accounting for nearly 80% of new capacity. As renewable projects become more complex and interconnected, captives offer a flexible and strategic platform to manage risks holistically across the value chain,” she said.
Marine Charbonnier, head of captives and facultative underwriting, APAC & Europe at AXA XL, stressed that captives were not a replacement for traditional markets. “Captives are not a substitute but a complement to traditional insurance markets. They provide the control, flexibility, and stability needed for organisations to navigate the complexities of a shift towards new energy sources,” she said.
Aon’s Guido Benz, head of global renewable energy for commercial risk, pointed to captives’ potential in bridging the gap between experimental and commercially insurable technologies. “Captives can act as a bridge, helping new technologies move from prototype phase into mainstream insurable assets and effectively helping to kick-start market adoption,” he said.
The report includes a case study on TenneT Group, the national transmission service operator of the Netherlands, which established a reinsurance captive – TenneT Reinsurance NV – to reduce its dependence on traditional insurance markets while enhancing risk governance across its grid expansion programme.
The full report is available at captiveintelligence.io.
