Quinbrook was pleased to welcome two groups of US members of Congress this week to its portfolio company, Flexitricity,
Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners (“Quinbrook”), a specialist global investment manager focused exclusively on renewables, storage and grid support infrastructure, was pleased to welcome two groups of US members of Congress this week to its portfolio company, Flexitricity, as a part of their trip to the COP26 conference in Glasgow.
Headquartered in Edinburgh, Flexitricity was the first demand response aggregator to market in Great Britain,1 and now manages a virtual power plant with a contracted portfolio of 595 MW of distributed flexible energy from a wide range of assets owned by customers across the region. The company looks for flexibility in electricity consumption and generation to enhance grid support during periods of system stress and higher power prices; this, in turn, reduces carbon emissions and generates cost savings for energy consumers. The addition of Flexitricity takes Quinbrook’s total flexible energy portfolio towards c. 1 GW.2
The Senate delegation was led by Senator Chris Coons who was joined by fellow members of Congress who attended the event during the COP26 summit in Glasgow (full list below).
Congressman Graves said, “Thank you to Flexitricity for hosting our delegation for an informative site visit. It was great to hear from those advancing creative ways to use technology to optimize energy sources for emissions reduction.”
Rory Quinlan, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Quinbrook said, “We were delighted to welcome the US Congressional delegations to tour our Flexitricity headquarters and see first-hand the innovation underway in the UK to help combat the global climate crisis. As the UK’s energy system undergoes a transformational shift to scale up its reliance on renewable energy to meet its net zero goals, it’s critical that this rapid energy transition is delivered without disruption to energy security and reliability. What Flexitricity does is a key part of ensuring there continues to be reliable yet affordable, emissions-free energy to meet growing demand.”
These visits by US elected officials come on the heels of Quinbrook’s recent announcement of Project Fortress, the largest consented single-site solar PV and battery storage installation in the UK,4 which is expected to generate 350 MW of solar PV power and includes 150 MW battery storage to support the UK grid.5 Last year, Quinbrook announced the approval of Project Gemini, a solar PV + battery storage project comprising of 690 MW of solar PV and 380 MW of battery storage6 to provide renewable power to the City of Las Vegas, once operational. At the time of its federal approval, Gemini was the largest solar project in US history and one of the largest in the world.7
Quinbrook and its portfolio companies operate a variety of additional solar, wind and biomass energy sources, energy storage systems, renewables for green data centres and other mission-critical infrastructure investments across the US, UK and Australia that encompass over 18 GW of renewable energy and transition projects,8 generating more than 3.3 TWh of renewable energy in 2020 and delivering an estimated 2.4 million tons of avoided carbon emissions. The company’s commitment to ESG means that each project not only reduces emissions but also aims to create and preserve jobs, promote sustainability, foster community engagement, improve transparency and enhance the local economy.9
“These are just some examples of Quinbrook’s commitment to investing in impactful new infrastructure and advanced technology solutions to affordably and sustainably support a global shift to alternative energy adoption and sustainable consumption. With all eyes on Glasgow this fortnight, we are pleased to showcase how Quinbrook and its investors are supporting the global race to net zero while maintaining the highest standard of ESG principles when creating new infrastructure projects that create and preserve jobs, stimulate local economies and deliver positive environmental outcomes,” added Mr. Quinlan.
The members of the Congressional delegations that visited Flexitricity included:
- Senator Chris Coons (D-DE)
- Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), Chairman, Environment and Public Works Committee
- Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Environment and Public Works Committee
- Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Energy and Natural Resources Committee
- Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
- Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO)
- Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
- Representative Scott Peters (D-CA-52), Energy and Commerce Committee
- Representative Tom Malinowski (D-NJ-7)
- Representative Garret Graves (R-LA-6), Natural Resources Committee
- Representative John Curtis (R-UT-3), Energy and Commerce Committee
- Representative Dan Crenshaw (R-TX-2), Energy and Commerce Committee
- Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA-2)
1 Scottish Financial News, “Quinbrook acquires Edinburgh-based Flexitricity” (15 September 2020)
2 As at 30 September 2021, based on Flexitricity’s contracted portfolio of 595.5 MW and an additional 300 MW from Velox Power
3 HM Government, “Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener” (October 2021)
4 As at September 2021 based on Bloomberg NEF data
5 As at September 2021
6 As at June 2021
7 Green Tech Media, “Trump Administration Approves $1B Gemini Solar Project in Nevada Desert” (11 May 2020)
8 As at 30 June 2021
9 As demonstrated under the Quinbrook Low Carbon Power Fund as at 30 June 2021
10 Scottish Financial News, “Quinbrook acquires Edinburgh-based Flexitricity” (15 September 2020)
While leading a bipartisan Congressional delegation to COP26, I appreciated the opportunity to tour the Flexitricity Control Center in Edinburgh and hear from leaders of Quinbrook and the H100 Fife hydrogen project. As we work to develop robust, secure infrastructure for renewables in the United States – one of the core strategies we have to reduce emissions and combat climate change — we can learn from our Scottish partners about their transition to renewable energy.
Senator Coons
co-chair of the Senate Climate Solutions Caucus