A new joint venture by infrastructure and private equity firm Foresight Group Holdings and 85 Degrees Renewable Ltd to target up to 200MW of new geothermal heat capacity in the Netherlands. In a release late last month, listed infrastructure and private equity investment manager, Foresight Group Holdings Limited announced a joint venture investment into geothermal energy in the Netherlands. Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners (“FEIP”), Foresight’s energy transition fund, has invested in a joint venture with 85 Degrees Renewable Ltd (“85 Degrees”).
Located in the Netherlands, the joint venture investment entails both the acquisition of operational wells and construction of new wells. There is also a significant pipeline of development projects representing a potential build out capacity of ca. 200MW. Geothermal heat energy is supported by the Dutch government as a strategic priority, given it will contribute to the country’s national emission reduction objectives by decarbonising domestic and industrial heat.
Studies of geothermal heat provision have demonstrated that geothermal heat can achieve carbon savings in excess of 90% by displacing the need for fossil fuel usage. The investment will also make a material social and economic contribution to local areas by supplying price-competitive heat to farmers and residents within the vicinity of assets. Founded by Bart Duijndam, Greg Thain and Maarten Bruggink, 85 Degrees has considerable expertise in geothermal development and the wider drilling and pipeline sector. Supported by a local management team, the company has vast experience in the Netherlands and has been involved in a large proportion of the Dutch geothermal projects developed to date.
The investment is FEIP’s fifth investment and brings a third technology to its portfolio, providing diversification to its existing wind and energy-from-waste assets. FEIP’s strategy is to invest in opportunities created by the transformational change underway in global energy markets and is targeting a diversified portfolio of high-quality energy infrastructure assets with strong sustainability characteristics.
FEIP’s investment strategy has been shaped to achieve specific decarbonisation objectives in line with the EU Green Taxonomy and Paris Climate Agreement. It aligns with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”), in particular with respect to Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7), Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9) and Climate Action (SDG 13). Richard Thompson, Co-Manager of FEIP and Foresight Partner commented:
“This is a very exciting development for FEIP. The partnership with 85 Degrees paves the way for future expansion across a sector which we see as having considerable investment potential. We very much look forward to working with 85 Degrees to build a leading geothermal platform in the Netherlands directly contributing to the country’s emission reduction objectives.”
Greg Thain, Co-founder and Director of 85 Degrees, said:
“Having Foresight involved perfectly complements our local knowledge of geothermal markets in northern Europe. We are excited to be in a position to deliver urgently needed CO2 reductions in the shortest possible time. We feel that our efforts can make a significant contribution to delivering streamlined, fast-track, CO2 reductions.”