New Green Investment Group tool demonstrates the climate benefits of over 40,000 wind and solar assets

• GIG’s Carbon Score tool will use BloombergNEF’s (BNEF) renewable energy project data to assess the positive carbon impact of over 40,000 wind and solar assets.
• Over 60% of wind and solar projects globally will receive a GIG Carbon Score.
• The Carbon Score will provide robust and comparable data to allow measurement of renewables assets’ contribution to carbon reduction.

Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG) today announced a ground-breaking new initiative to increase the availability of standardised, climate-related data. In partnership with BloombergNEF (BNEF) GIG’s pioneering Carbon Score methodology will be combined with BNEF’s market-leading renewable energy project data to build a tool to assess the carbon impact of over 40,000 wind and solar assets, globally. The tool will be launched at the Macquarie GIG Green Energy Conference in London on Thursday the 3rd of October.

As developers, asset owners and managers, project finance providers and energy consumers increasingly seek to understand the environmental benefits of projects better, the demand for robust environmental data continues to grow. However, as recognised in the recent Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI) Financing the Low-Carbon Future report, the integration of climate-related risks and opportunities into investment decisions continues to be challenged by a lack of information.

GIG’s methodology helps to address some of this by generating a simple and intuitive Carbon Score for renewables assets, enabling BNEF clients to quickly, clearly and consistently assess, and compare, the positive carbon impact of individual assets, fund portfolios or PPAs. Through the partnership, GIG’s Carbon Score will be applied to over 60% of the world’s consented wind and solar projects.

Power off-takers will be able to identify opportunities to purchase high-impact clean power, while asset owners and managers will have access to robust data to quantify and report on the contribution of renewable energy assets and portfolios to carbon reduction more accurately.

"I am delighted that this joint initiative between GIG and BNEF brings together two global leaders in their field. The transition to a lower carbon economy demands that climate impacts are factored into investment decisions. GIG has developed market-leading methodologies in the quantification of environmental benefits and I’m proud that we’re opening access to our Carbon Scores, to help stakeholders quantify their positive contribution in tackling climate change."

Mark Dooley
Global Head of GIG

"Our goal is to provide better data to enable our clients to make more-informed decisions. This initiative will help developers and investors assess and compare the carbon impact of renewable energy projects across the globe promoting investments in cleaner renewable assets."

Jon Moore
CEO of BNEF

GIG’s green impact advisory services, including green impact reporting, are available to third parties. For more information please see here.