Scaling a Leading Renewable Power Provider

The global energy transition will require $5 trillion in investment each year between now and 2030^{[ 1 ]} This has created enormous opportunity for Altus Power – the largest owner of commercial scale solar in the US. Founded in 2009, Altus develops, owns and operates solar generation, energy storage and charging infrastructure for commercial, public sector, industrial and Community Solar customers.

During its first decade, Altus established itself as one of the leading companies in the distributed solar sector, thanks in part to an initial investment from Blackstone Credit in 2014. Yet by 2019, the acceleration of the energy transition meant that the company had the potential to expand even further, so they set out to find partners that could help it strategically and efficiently scale.

Blackstone took this opportunity to invest in an established renewable energy player on the verge of tremendous growth. We deepened our relationship with Altus Power in 2020, when Blackstone Credit and Blackstone Insurance Solutions led a recapitalization that included sufficient funding for Altus to more than double its solar capacity over the next two years. To date, Blackstone has provided approximately $1.5 billion to Altus, with targeted support for select solar initiatives. In November 2023, for instance, we issued a new line of capital – named the Blackstone Construction Facility – dedicated to funding the equipment, labor and fees needed to build new solar projects.

Our scale enabled us to act not merely as a capital provider, but as a capital partner, equipping the company with the resources to fuel its next chapter. Through our Value Creation program, we helped the company streamline processes, connecting them with our procurement service and an HR software provider that lowered administrative costs. And through our Real Estate business – the largest owner of commercial real estate in the world – we connected Altus with a key component for distributed solar projects: empty rooftop space.

Blackstone’s real estate portfolio includes Link Logistics, the operator of the largest portfolio of high-quality logistics assets in the United States . This gives us access to vast amounts of unused rooftop space – an ideal site for Altus to construct and operate local renewable energy.