Australian investor Macquarie Asset Management has acquired an additional 50% stake in Island Green Power, a UK-based solar and battery storage developer.
The transaction, via Macquarie’s Green Investments fund, brings its stake in Island Green Power (IGP) to 100%. It first invested in the company in 2022.
IGP was established in 2013 and has developed over 3GW of solar PV projects to the ready-to-build stage. It is also the company behind the 600MW Cottam Solar Farm and 480MW West Burton Solar Farm, both of which were consented by the energy secretary within the last year.
IGP has over 15GW of utility-scale solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in its UK pipeline. As part of the Macquarie acquisition IGP’s founders will retain full ownership of the company’s international business.
Under Macquarie in the UK, IGP will transition from a pure development business into an independent power producer (IPP).
Macquarie’s mark on the UK
The first UK solar power plant to connect to the transmission network, the 50MW Larks Green solar PV site co-located with a 49.5MW/99MW BESS, was developed by Macquarie-backed Cero Generation in partnership with Enso Energy.
After the solar part of the project connected to the transmission network in 2023, the co-located BESS was energised in 2024, making the site the first of its kind to be transmission connected in the UK.
The partnership between Cero and Enso was initially penned between Macquarie’s Green Investment Group and Enso, before the former launched Cero Generation.
In October 2024, the UK government confirmed that Macquarie had committed a £1.3 billion investment in the UK. This includes investment by its portfolio company Roadchef, a motorway service area operator, to install 650 fast electric vehicle charging points across its sites.
These facilities will be partially powered by 9MW solar energy capacity installed onsite. Macquarie’s investment package also includes 5GW of new offshore wind capacity, including projects off the Orkney and Lincolnshire coasts, as well as a direct investment into IGP’s Stow solar plant that was consented in September 2024.
Macquarie’s Green Investment Group was formed after it bought out the UK Green Investment Bank in 2017, a controversial move given that it had been a publicly owned green investor.
