With a significant investment in Better Energy, ATP – the biggest pension fund in Denmark – makes one of the largest investments of the year. The high three-digit million investment is part of ATP’s ambition to strengthen the development of green, Danish-produced energy and contribute to the green transition.
In the midst of a European energy crisis and a global climate crisis, ATP is now investing directly in the deployment and production of clean, green energy. After the transaction, ATP owns approx. 15% of Better Energy and will have a seat on the company’s Board of Directors.
The commitment to Better Energy supports ATP’s desire to play a significant role in the green transition through investments, and at the same time, the investment meets the primary criterion of being able to ensure an attractive, risk-adjusted return for its members.
“For the sake of the necessary green transition and in order to free Europe from its dependence on Russian gas, we require a significant expansion of renewable energy sources. Demand is increasing, and there is a need to invest in green energy – also on land. An investment in Better Energy will contribute positively to CO2 reductions and is also an exciting opportunity to achieve an attractive return,” says Mikkel Svenstrup, CIO in ATP.
Number one in solar energy in Northern Europe
Better Energy is one of the fastest growing producers of solar energy in Northern Europe with a pipeline of more than 10 GW of large scale solar parks that will supply companies, cities and countries with green energy that reduces carbon emissions, boosts biodiversity, and is cheaper than coal, oil and gas.
The investment from ATP is a lever for Better Energy’s continued scaling as the portfolio of solar parks owned by the company itself grows.
“In 2020, we completed our transition from developer to renewable energy company. This means that we keep solar parks in our own ownership, and this obviously entails a different capital requirement. The investment from ATP helps to secure and maintain momentum in all our markets,” says Rasmus Lildholdt Kjær, CEO of Better Energy.
The world urgently needs green energy
“Companies all over the world have an almost insatiable need for green energy if they are to live up to the goals of reducing their CO2 emissions. This is the power that Better Energy is helping to deliver today, but the world needs much more of it. Better Energy plans a strong growth of their production of green energy. We believe that there is a really strong business case in this goal,” says Mikkel Svenstrup.
5.5 million Danish co-owners of green energy production
For Better Energy it was important to find an investor with a shared value set, who cares that the development of solar parks takes place in the best possible way.
“It was a big plus for us that ATP is the pension company for all of Denmark. Through our conversations, we have spent a long time making sure it was the right match, and we are excited to welcome 5.5 million Danes as co-owners of our solar parks,” says Rasmus Lildholdt Kjær, CEO of Better Energy.
For ATP, Better Energy’s approach to early involvement of local communities and local value creation – such as protection of groundwater, initiatives for nature restoration and increased biodiversity, as well as the establishment of recreational areas – was a huge positive.
“We are facing a major transformation of Europe’s energy systems and we will have to live with the decisions we make now for many years to come. Better Energy has proven that they have an eye for both the solar parks’ value creation locally and for their projects’ greater context of our electricity system,” says Mikkel Svenstrup, CIO in ATP.
