BlackRock Real Assets Acquires solarZero, New Zealand’s solar energy services company

BlackRock Real Assets announces a fund under its management has agreed to acquire solarZero, a leading player in the solar and smart battery sector based in New Zealand by way of a scheme of arrangement.

As part of the acquisition, BlackRock Real Assets intends to commit over NZD$100 million of capital over the next three years to accelerate the growth of solarZero’s solar and battery technology platform.

Established in 2008, solarZero is a leading provider of roof-top solar and smart battery across residential, commercial, and community buildings in New Zealand. As a leading “solar-as-a-service” option in New Zealand, solarZero aims to make solar and low-priced energy more accessible for New Zealanders by setting a fixed monthly solar services fee with no initial upfront installation costs for the consumer.

solarZero enables New Zealanders to reduce their carbon footprint and to save on their electricity bills in the face of escalating and volatile energy costs. solarZero has installed 8,500 solar systems on New Zealand homes and businesses – more than any other company in New Zealand.

To date, solarZero’s 8,500 GridForGood customers have enjoyed a collective NZD$4.5 million in power bill savings and generated thousands of hours of back-up power during outages.  This has contributed to the curbing of close to 10,950 tonnes of carbon emissions as well as delivered over 89GWh (Gigawatt hours) of solar energy in New Zealand.

solarZero is the first residential solar and battery investment made by BlackRock’s Climate Infrastructure business in the Asia-Pacific region.

The solarZero system is monitored, managed, and connected as a virtual power plant (VPP) – a network of solar and smart batteries – that effectively provides additional power supply when and where needed to support the power grid.

The solar energy generated in each home not only supplies power for that home, but also feeds excess generation to the power grid. By doing so, the solarZero platform shares the power generated with the broader community, ensuring energy supply and demand is carefully managed to increase the overall resiliency of the power grid in New Zealand.

New Zealand has set a target of 100% renewable electricity generation by 2035 and to be a carbon-neutral economy by 2050. With residential solar penetration currently at 2% and the expected demand for electricity in New Zealand to double by 2050, there is a clear and immediate need for additional residential solar to achieve this target.

Asia-Pacific is the leading region for rooftop solar that accounted for 41% of global capacity in 2021 and represents a c. USD$4 trillion opportunity by 2050.[5] solarZero intends to become a global “solar-as-a-service” provider and plans to expand into a range of markets in Asia Pacific, with a near-term focus on Australia, as well as looking at Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and beyond.

Charlie Reid, Asia-Pacific co-head of Climate Infrastructure, BlackRock, said, “New Zealand is widely recognised as a global leader in renewable energy and climate finance, and we are pleased to make our first investment in this market.

“Our move into New Zealand demonstrates BlackRock’s commitment to invest in attractive markets as part of our broader efforts to offer a flow of addressable global climate investment opportunities for our clients.

“solarZero is a global pioneer, and we look forward to supporting its expansion into other Asia-Pacific markets and, at the same time, to accelerating New Zealand’s net zero journey.”

Andrew Booth, CEO and Founder of solarZero, said, Kiwis want clean and resilient energy. BlackRock Climate Infrastructure team’s investment and backing will enable us to rapidly increase our scale, grow our energy services network, and accelerate the transition to a 100% clean energy future.

“By 2030, 50% of the world’s energy will be generated in the Asia Pacific region. The window to prevent the worst impacts of the climate crisis is closing fast, and the power couple of solar plus storage is one of the few true paths to energy security, stable power prices, and a livable planet.

“We need to take urgent action and accessing BlackRock’s global network and deep expertise in climate infrastructure will provide the support we need to become a global “solar-as-a-service” solution.”

Andrew Landman, Head of New Zealand and Australia, BlackRock, said, “This investment demonstrates BlackRock’s unwavering commitment to support the Australasia region on its orderly net zero transition.

“We look forward to supporting solarZero in its ambitions of helping more and more New Zealanders to have access to solar and low-cost energy and, in doing so, to make a meaningful contribution to the broader transition of the New Zealand economy.”

The investment in solarZero further broadens BlackRock Real Assets’ Climate Infrastructure portfolio in the Asia-Pacific region following its recent investments in Australian battery energy developer, Akaysha, Taiwanese solar energy firm, New Green Power, Korean renewables energy developers, KREDO and Brite Energy Partners, and Australian electric vehicle (EV) charging provider, JOLT which recently launched in New Zealand.