Insurance giant Legal & General has announced that it has provided £57.5 million of long-term debt financing to support Hermes Infrastructure in their recapitalisation of two solar photovoltaic (solar PV) portfolios in England and Wales.

The investment has been made by Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) Real Assets on behalf of its clients including Legal & General Retirement Institutional. The two portfolios consist of fully operational solar PV systems installed on the roofs of more than 9,000 residential homes. The solar PV systems have a combined installed capacity of around 34.52MW and approximately 10% of the portfolio is located on social housing

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“Avoiding climate catastrophe is our greatest global priority,” said Nigel Wilson, chief executive officer of Legal & General.  “Across the Legal & General group, we have taken many actions in support of the environment: by controlling what we do directly, investing in renewables and new science to support de-carbonisation, and by using our investment scale and strength to encourage others to follow suit. It is part of our commitment to inclusive capitalism.”

“This is another great investment for us in the renewables sector,” said Tom Sumpster, head of infrastructure finance at LGIM Real Assets. “Renewable energy now accounts for a third of global power capacity, with wind and solar totalling 84% of new renewable generation capacity in 2018. With the cost of power from wind and solar continuing to fall, consumer demand for clean power is increasing. Further investment in sustainable energy benefits society and provides secure investments to match our pension liabilities and payments.”