UniSuper Pledges $400 Million to Macquarie Renewables Fund

By Alice Uribe

SYDNEY--UniSuper, one Australia's largest pension funds, has pledged US$400 million to a renewables fund run by Macquarie that is making investments in wind and solar projects globally.

The Macquarie Green Energy and Climate Opportunities Fund will include six seed investments across Australia, Asia, U.S. and Europe, spanning solar, wind, energy-storage and natural climate-solutions investments. UniSuper Chief Investment Officer John Pearce said it was a significant investor of the fund and would be investing alongside Macquarie's balance sheet.

"This is an investment of scale and quality with a pipeline of opportunities helping to accelerate the transition to net zero," Pearce said.

"The energy transition will require mature sustainable technologies to meet net zero targets in Australia and around the world."

Most large Australian pension funds have net zero targets. UniSuper, which manages about 135 billion Australian dollars (US$86.7 billion), is looking to achieve net zero emissions at a whole-of-fund and portfolio level by 2050 and to contribute to Australia's goal to achieve a 43% reduction in emissions by 2030.

The open-ended fund, which sits within Macquarie Asset Management, invests in large scale, mature sustainable technologies. Macquarie on Wednesday said the fund has acquired a portfolio of six investments including Galehead Development, Treaty Oak Clean Energy, Aula Energy, Blueleaf Energy, Outer Dowsing and Forliance.

"The portfolio seeks to accelerate the green transition through its extensive, high quality development pipelines and operational projects that are well aligned to national targets and policies," said Edward Northam, Head of Core Renewables, MAM Green Investments.

Write to Alice Uribe at alice.uribe@wsj.com