Blackstone, through funds managed by GSO Capital Partners LP, announced today the formation of a new portfolio company, ClearGen LLC that will finance and own distributed and sustainable energy infrastructure assets focused on commercial, industrial and institutional customers. GSO will initially commit $250 million to fund ClearGen and expects to expand the commitment as capital is deployed.
ClearGen and Blackstone will offer flexible capital solutions and programmatic investments alongside equipment manufacturers, developers and energy service companies who develop, build, and operate Distributed Infrastructure. Through these partnerships, ClearGen will invest in a wide range of assets including microgrids, distributed generation, renewable energy combined with battery storage, energy efficiency investments, green transportation, and combined heat and power plants. These assets will serve various sectors, including technology, telecommunications, healthcare, real estate, industrials, and other commercial and industrial energy consumers.
The market for on-site renewable projects is growing rapidly as energy consumers are faced with rising energy costs, service outages caused by extreme weather and natural disasters, and a desire to improve the sustainability of their operations. ClearGen’s investments deliver significant environmental benefits, cost savings, and enhanced energy resiliency to its customers by allowing them to improve or develop mission-critical on-site energy infrastructure. ClearGen will offer turnkey offerings and energy as a service to customers without requiring them to use their own capital.
“We are excited to partner with ClearGen and expand Blackstone’s investments in distributed and sustainable energy infrastructure. We look forward to working with ClearGen and its industry leading partners to meet the significant growth in behind-the-meter energy systems in North America,” said Robert Horn, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone and Co-Head of GSO’s Energy Group. “Our initial investment will position ClearGen to offer the full range of low-cost, flexible capital through credit and insurance businesses that allows Blackstone to be a one-stop shop for infrastructure capital needs,” said Rob Camacho, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone and Co-Head of GSO’s Structured Products group.
