Canada’s University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP) has completed a co-investment in Rowan Digital Infrastructure alongside investment manager Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners – which exclusively invests in infrastructure for the energy transition. This investment builds on UPP and Quinbrook’s partnership, first initiated last year through UPP’s investment in Quinbrook’s Net Zero Power Fund. Rowan was established in 2020 and develops US-based hyperscale data centres powered by renewable sources. “We are thrilled that UPP shares our focus on investing in energy infrastructure that helps support the net-zero transition and are very pleased to welcome them as a co-investor in Rowan and to our broader infrastructure platform,” said John Lucas, Managing Director and North America Regional Lead for Quinbrook. “The large-load requirements of new-build data centres mean that there is likely to be increasing investment in, and demand for, data centres powered by renewable energy.” The investment is one of Quinbrook’s latest efforts to support the development and construction of large renewable power generation and storage infrastructure across the UK, US and Australia. For UPP, the investment contributes to the pension fund’s 2030 target to commit US$1.2 billion in climate solutions. “Beyond adding important inflation-hedging properties to UPP’s investment portfolio, our investment in Rowan Digital Infrastructure provides a unique opportunity to help fund the critical infrastructure required for the growth of data centres with renewable energy sources,” said Peter Martin Larsen, Head of Private Markets at UPP. “This partnership underscores UPP’s dedication to making investments with strong and stable long-term returns for our members that can contribute to the decarbonisation of key industries and the wider economy.”
