Japan sets-up renewable energy infrastructure fund

A private asset manager will take charge of the fund, which will receive an initial capital of US$19 million from the Tokyo Metropolitan government.

Sparx Group Co. Ltd said the funding could reach some US$251 million. Chief Executive Officer Shuhei Abe said the fund will invest mainly in projects such as mega-solar and wind-power plants in Japan.

Sparx could also invest as much as 15% of assets in shares of smart-grid technology companies, he said.

“This is going to be a big push for the expansion of our fund business,” Abe said. “The renewable energy industry is lacking capital it needs to contribute to securing sustainable energy in Japan and we want to be the initial risk taker in providing the financing.”

Sparx runs a fund that invests in Japanese companies in the smart-grid and renewable-energy technology industries amid Japan’s efforts to reduce dependence on atomic energy that provided about 30% of the nation’s power before the Fukushima disaster in March 2011

The Tokyo city fund is a public-private partnership infrastructure fund intended to build up a long-term and stable fund supply system for development and maintenance of social infrastructure, and to contribute to stable supply of electric power which is an urgent and crucial task.

The fund will focus on the Tokyo metropolitan area for investments. It will also seek opportunities across Japan as well in alternative energy providers such as those in the solar- power industry and wind-power generators, Abe said.