Sustainability Spotlight

AIMCo now owns a 49% stake in two wind energy projects near Pincher Creek, Alberta that deliver carbon-free, renewable power to the province’s electricity grid. AIMCo first partnered with Enel Green Power North America on the deal in 2018. After the construction was complete and the wind projects had been in operation for more than a year, AIMCo closed the deal in late 2022. The wind projects have been awarded 20-year power purchase agreements with the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO). The long-term contract with the AESO — an organization with a credit rating of AA-/Stable — will provide stable cash flows for AIMCo’s clients for years to come, while the wind projects can deliver a total of almost 135MW of renewable power to Alberta’s electricity grid.

On behalf of clients, AIMCo has made a debt investment (with warrants) in Tidewater Renewables, an Alberta-based business focused on the production of renewable diesel and renewable natural gas. Tidewater Renewables is on the cusp of opening the first renewable diesel facility in Canada. While conventional biodiesel plants already exist, the diesel they produce needs to be blended with hydrocarbon diesel for commercial use. In contrast, the Tidewater plant will produce renewable diesel, which is a “drop-in-fuel” that is compatible with existing diesel engines and does not require blending — providing an instant decarbonization pathway for existing long-haul transportation vehicles. The renewable diesel facility can be run on a variety of feedstocks such as canola oil, soybean oil, used cooking oil, and tallow. Tidewater is a true energy transition story, as it reinvests cashflows from legacy energy assets into renewable fuels. AIMCo’s investment will help fund the construction of the renewable diesel facility, while also providing potential equity upside through warrants, as the company de-risks the renewable diesel facility, and concurrently brings emissions down.

The Latitude building in Paris, located in La Défense, Europe’s biggest business district, has been transformed in both form and function over the course of AIMCo’s investment. Once a 1970’s-era office building with a large, above-ground parking garage, the building has been extended and redeveloped to create a better work environment for employees and an attractive meeting place for anyone in the area, especially pedestrians. By improving the aesthetics and adding pedestrian and cycling paths around the building, thousands of workers benefit from a campus-like setting, located within walking distance of a major public transit hub. AIMCo, on behalf of its clients, bought a 49% stake in the project in 2016 and redeveloped it with operating partners Generale Continentale Investissements and Pinebridge Benson Elliot. The renovation has resulted in a 55% decrease in carbon emissions for the building’s operations and a 62% reduction in primary energy consumption.