NZ Green Investment Finance to get $300 million Budget boost
Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read. NZ Green Finance wants to invest more in solar pojects. New Zealand Green Investment Finance (NZGIF) will get a $300 million boost from the Government in the upcoming Budget to support reduced carbon emissions. The bigger balance sheet creates a greater opportunity to develop low-carbon projects, drive down emissions and create green jobs, Climate Change Minister James Shaw said. NZGIF is a green investment bank set up by the Government in 2019. The injection takes NZGIFs pool of capital to $700m, making it one of the largest direct investors in New Zealand focused on climate change. Shaw said the boost will allow NZGIF to invest in solutions to stimulate clean, green investment into low-carbon companies and projects, and to mobilise private capital. Since its establishment in 2019, New Zealand Green Investment Finance has been a major player in the work to finance and incentivise climate innovation and drive down emissions, Shaw said. Public funding alone will not finance the scale of investment thats needed, with the urgency required, to address the climate crisis, he said. Over the last four years, NZGIF has invested in a broad range of investments, including in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, solar power in schools and electric buses. NZGIF chairwoman Cecilia Tarrant said the company would have had to curtail its activities without the injection. This just gives us more runway to keep building on the momentum, she told the Herald . It will enable us to make investments, and more investment will allow us to attract private capital, she said. Tarrant said NZGIF sees opportunities in solar, batteries, electric buses and agriculture. The extra capital investment will support existing and future projects, including transport, process heat, infrastructure and early-stage companies, she said. NZGIF has announced 16 investments to date, with capital commitments of $279.6m. The portfolio of investments is a mix of debt and equity delivering tangible climate outcomes across six target sectors transport, distributed energy resources, energy efficiency, agriculture, process heat and infrastructure. Projects include a $50m financing deal with Kinetic, Australasias largest bus transport operator, to help decarbonise public transport in New Zealand with electric buses and associated infrastructure. This agreement is expected to deliver more than 150 zero-emissions buses to New Zealand. Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read. NZ Aerospace Summit in Christchurch hit by protest - which promises escalation tomorrow.