Foresight is set to acquire NZ Clean Energy (NZCE), a New Zealand-based renewable energy development platform with a portfolio of late-stage solar and battery energy storage (BESS) projects and a long-term development pipeline.
The acquisition will be made through Foresight’s flagship Asia-Pacific energy transition strategy, the Australian Renewables Income Fund (ARIF), marking its first investment in the New Zealand market.
Foresight expects total capital commitments for the development and construction of NZCE’s three late-stage solar projects, with a combined capacity of around 300MW, to exceed A$500 million as the projects move into construction during 2026 and 2027.
The NZCE platform includes three ready-to-build solar projects—Masterton (89MW AC solar with BESS), Darfield (106MW AC solar with BESS), and Dannevirke (72MW AC solar with BESS)—alongside a wider development pipeline of more than 2GW of solar and battery storage projects across about 15 sites.
The acquisition provides ARIF with an established local development team and a platform to advance the ready-to-build projects into construction while expanding renewable and storage development across New Zealand.
The move comes as New Zealand’s electricity market undergoes structural changes, with rising power demand and the transition to a low-emissions energy system expected to drive investment in new renewable generation and energy storage. Electricity demand is forecast to grow by around 25% over the next decade, increasing from about 40 terawatt-hours (TWh) today to around 50TWh by the mid-2030s.
Edward Lloyd, Head of Australia for Foresight, said: “This acquisition further strengthens Foresight’s position as a leading investor in the regional energy market, with the scale of our portfolio and our internal capabilities providing a meaningful competitive advantage. We welcome aboard the NZCE team and are excited about delivering the significant pipeline they have created.”
Daniel Beaver, Executive Director at Foresight and Portfolio Manager of ARIF, said: “This acquisition represents an important milestone in our growth strategy. New Zealand has an exceptional renewable resource base and a supportive policy environment. By combining our capital and operational expertise with NZCE’s local knowledge, development expertise and project pipeline, we are well positioned to accelerate the delivery of new renewable energy capacity.”
Harry Simpson, CEO of NZCE, said: “We established NZCE with the ambition of building a serious pipeline of solar and storage projects across New Zealand. Over the past several years we’ve focused on identifying the right sites and progressing projects through development. Partnering with Foresight allows us to move into the next stage and take advanced projects into construction while continuing to expand the platform.”
George Hughes, COO of NZCE, added: “A huge amount of work sits behind projects reaching this stage. The immediate focus is turning this development work into operating projects and starting to deliver new renewable capacity into the New Zealand market.”
