KKR, a number one international funding agency, and Power Capital Companions, the biggest non-public proprietor of energy era and renewables within the U.S., have shaped a $50 billion strategic partnership. The collaboration goals to speed up the event of information middle and energy era and transmission infrastructure for the speedy growth of synthetic intelligence (AI) and cloud computing globally. This strategic partnership combines KKR’s deep experience in digital infrastructure, energy, and the vitality worth chain with ECP’s premier vitality transition platform in electrification and energy and renewable era.
Developments in AI are fueling an unprecedented demand for knowledge facilities, however a restricted availability of dependable energy is impeding the strategic objectives of the world’s largest expertise firms, enterprises, and governments trying to deploy AI. U.S. knowledge middle demand is projected to almost triple by 2030, driving over $1 trillion in investment1. A single deliberate knowledge middle campus frequently exceeds 1 gigawatt (GW) of energy demand and requires an funding of $15 billion or extra throughout knowledge middle and energy tools.
“Knowledge middle energy demand is predicted to develop by 160% by 20302, a requirement that may go unmet with out the best infrastructure in place, which is important to boosting productiveness, supporting electrification and serving to international locations create a aggressive edge in AI. On the identical time, the scaling of this mission-critical infrastructure should be carried out affordably, reliably, and sustainably, whereas addressing the wants of all stakeholders – from expertise firms to finish customers,” mentioned Joe Bae, Co-Chief Government Officer, KKR.
“To ensure that the U.S. to take care of its benefit in AI, we’ll want large new investments in energy infrastructure on an accelerated foundation which are able to addressing considerations associated to electrical energy costs and carbon emissions,” mentioned Doug Kimmelman, Founder and Senior Companion, ECP. “We’re dedicated to delivering options for our strategic companions and our traders via ECP’s robust utility relationships and experience investing throughout all kinds of energy era, renewable, and battery storage property.”
“Constructing out AI and energy infrastructure would require collaboration throughout industries. KKR and ECP’s strategic partnership affords a brand new strategy, with instantly accessible capital and the capabilities wanted to deploy that capital to speed up this effort. With our mixed footprint and capabilities, we’ve a greater than 8 GW present datacenter pipeline, 100 GW of at present working and development-ready energy era, and important expertise working with stakeholders throughout each industries to assist understand this chance rapidly and responsibly,” mentioned Waldemar Szlezak, Companion and International Head of Digital Infrastructure, KKR.
“The ECP and KKR groups have a long time of expertise working with constituents to carry infrastructure initiatives to completion on time and on finances,” mentioned Tyler Reeder, Managing Companion, ECP. “This expertise, together with ECP’s present energy and renewable asset base, historical past of decarbonizing present property via carbon seize and asset repowering, in addition to KKR’s main digital apply, present our companions a transparent path to delivering a lot wanted computing capability via a sustainable lens.”
The strategic partnership is designed to ship scaled knowledge middle and energy options for hyperscalers and different market members to help their infrastructure wants throughout geographies to drive mannequin coaching, tuning, and inferencing at scale. KKR and ECP plan to have interaction with {industry} leaders together with utilities, energy and knowledge middle builders, and impartial energy producers to speed up the supply of information middle campuses required by hyperscalers.
“To develop a profitable answer to help the expansion of AI within the U.S., you want world-class capabilities alongside each step of the worth chain – together with energy era, transition, and deployment inside knowledge facilities to serve hyperscalers and different market members. With KKR and ECP’s industry-leading options in knowledge middle growth, energy, renewables, and capital formation, this partnership is bringing to bear the perfect of the perfect to speed up the construct out of AI,” mentioned Neil Chatterjee, former FERC Chairman, Senior Advisor to KKR, and Board Member of ECP-owned Convergent Power.
KKR is funding the strategic partnership from present infrastructure and actual property methods and insurance coverage accounts managed by KKR. ECP is funding the strategic partnership from present and future infrastructure capital swimming pools.
KKR first established its international infrastructure workforce and technique in 2008 and has since been one of the lively infrastructure traders all over the world with $77 billion in infrastructure property beneath administration as of September 30, 2024. To this point, KKR has invested greater than $29 billion throughout 22 investments in related digital infrastructure firms throughout knowledge facilities and fiber, in addition to $15 billion in energy, utilities, and vitality. KKR’s important international knowledge middle footprint spans 4 platforms with a number of GW of deployed property throughout over 100 services and extra beneath growth globally. KKR’s portfolio additionally consists of over 10 renewable vitality builders with over 50 GW of world growth pipeline.
ECP has owned, managed, and operated over 83 GW of energy era throughout all main U.S. energy markets, spanning quite a lot of applied sciences together with pure gasoline, geothermal, hydro, photo voltaic, wind, battery storage, and waste-to-energy since its founding in 2005. The ECP workforce, comprised of 90 folks with 800 years of collective {industry} expertise, deep experience, and in depth relationships, has accomplished greater than 100 fairness transactions (representing almost $60 billion of enterprise worth), the vast majority of which have been targeted on energy and renewables. Along with being the biggest non-public proprietor of energy and renewable era property within the U.S. via firms like Calpine, ECP can also be the bulk proprietor of an aeroderivative energy turbine platform and producer, ProEnergy, which can present an necessary hyperlink in accelerating the supply of electrical energy to knowledge middle initiatives.
