Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has completed fundraising for its second Growth Markets Fund, securing approximately $3 billion in commitments to finance large-scale renewable energy and power infrastructure across 15 high-growth, middle-income markets in Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Growth Markets Fund II (GMF II), including associated investment vehicles, is nearly three times the size of CIP’s first Growth Markets Fund. At final close, the fund’s total value exceeded paid-in capital, while $1.6 billion had already been committed across nine investments.
CIP expects GMF II to be fully committed within one to two years, supported by a visible pipeline of solar, wind, battery storage and grid-related projects.
GMF II Attracts Global Institutional Investors
GMF II received commitments from sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, development finance institutions, impact-focused family offices and returning investors. The fundraising expanded CIP’s institutional investor base across Asia, the Middle East and North America.
The fund focuses on developing and constructing greenfield energy infrastructure in countries where increasing electricity consumption, grid constraints and energy-security requirements are creating demand for new generation and storage capacity.
CIP’s first Growth Markets Fund provides an operating blueprint for the new strategy. GMF I is expected to deliver approximately 8.7 GW of critical energy infrastructure across more than 50 projects in India and South Africa.
Patache Battery Project Enters Construction in Chile
GMF II has issued Final Notice to Proceed for the 300 MW/1,500 MWh Patache battery energy storage project in Chile. The decision authorises construction under the project’s principal supply and construction agreements.
Patache will provide five hours of storage capacity and is located near high-quality solar resources, existing transmission infrastructure and energy-intensive industrial clusters. It will store surplus solar electricity produced during daytime hours and discharge it when power demand is higher.
The project is designed to reduce peak-hour dependence on thermal generation, lower carbon dioxide emissions and support the integration of additional utility-scale solar power into Chile’s electricity system. Patache has also qualified for an internationally recognised carbon-offset programme.
GMF II is developing the project alongside co-investors holding a minority interest.
Patache follows CIP’s Arena battery energy storage project in northern Chile’s Antofagasta region. The 220 MW/1,100 MWh Arena facility has completed construction and is supplying electricity to the grid. CIP said Arena was constructed below budget and is the largest standalone battery project commissioned in Chile.
La Esperanza Solar Secures $510 Million Financing in Mexico
CIP has also reached final investment decision and financial close for La Esperanza Solar in Campeche on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. It is the first CIP investment in Mexico to reach financial close.
The project combines 420 MWdc of solar photovoltaic capacity with a 150 MW battery system capable of operating for five hours. Its total storage capacity will be 750 MWh, making it one of Mexico’s largest battery energy storage systems.
Construction is underway, with commercial operations scheduled for 2028. The facility will add generation and storage capacity to the Yucatán Peninsula, where increasing electricity demand has intensified the need for a more reliable and flexible power system.
The battery system will store renewable electricity and deliver it when required, improving grid stability and the availability of clean power outside peak solar-production periods.
La Esperanza Solar has secured approximately $510 million in debt facilities from five international and regional commercial banks: BNP Paribas, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Natixis CIB, Santander and Scotiabank.
Equity is being provided by GMF II, with an expected co-investment from Mexican retirement-fund administrator Profuturo.
The project forms part of CIP’s broader expansion in Mexico, where the company has started construction on the country’s first large-scale solar-and-battery projects after securing the largest capacity allocation under the government’s recent binding planning framework.
Pestera II Wind Farm Reaches Financial Close in Romania
In Romania, GMF II has completed financial close for the 392 MW Pestera II onshore wind project in Constanța County. CIP describes it as one of Romania’s largest investments in new renewable energy infrastructure and one of the largest project-finance transactions completed in Central and Eastern Europe.
Pestera II secured a 15-year contract for difference covering 245 MW of its capacity in December 2024. Commercial operations are expected to begin in 2028.
The wind farm is intended to improve Romania’s security of electricity supply while providing competitively priced renewable power under a long-term revenue framework.
Project financing includes approximately €510 million in facilities supplied by a consortium of seven local and international banks: Erste Bank and Banca Comerciala Romana, Deutsche Bank, Societe Generale and BRD, Eurobank, and Piraeus Bank.
Equity is being contributed by GMF II and two co-investors—the European Investment Bank and a Danish pension fund.
Nordex will supply 56 N163-6.X wind turbines, each rated at 7.0 MW. Electrogrup will serve as the balance-of-plant contractor, while Blue Power Partners will provide construction-management services.
CIP Builds Growth-Market Renewable Energy Pipeline
The Chilean, Mexican and Romanian projects demonstrate GMF II’s emphasis on utility-scale infrastructure that combines renewable generation, energy storage and grid-support capabilities.
With around $3 billion raised, $1.6 billion already allocated to nine investments and full commitment expected within one to two years, CIP is positioning GMF II as a major source of capital for renewable energy expansion across its 15 target markets.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH
