US offshore wind port developer startup Clean Energy Terminals gets $50m capital pledge
Zero-emissions investor Homecoming Capital could raise its funding commitment as US accelerates drive to reach 110GW capacity by 2050
Private equity firm Homecoming Capital has pledged $50m to startup port developer Clean Energy Terminals (CET) whose founders’ led development of the $1bn-plus New Jersey Wind Port (NJWP).
CET’s chief executive Brian Sabina and chief development officer Jonathan Kennedy previously worked for the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, where they managed design and construction of 200-acre (81-ha) NJWP in Salem County, the US’ first purpose built offshore wind port.
The 35-acre phase two marshalling port with an additional 70-acres for nacelle assembly and tier 2 manufacturing is expected to come online by 2026.
As the pace of project installations ramps over the next decade, port infrastructure will be a significant bottleneck for US offshore wind, and multiple projects will be jockeying for capacity at only a handful of older, smaller harbours in the Northeast.
“With the US targeting 110GW of offshore wind capacity by 2050, including 15GW of floating wind by 2035, demand for both port infrastructure and the capital required to build it has never been greater,” said Sabina.
“Homecoming’s long-term investment horizon, hands-on approach to working with management teams, and understanding that infrastructure needs to be developed in a way that is responsive to local stakeholders makes them a great fit for CET,” he added.
CET will leverage Homecoming’s investment to execute early-stage development work on a portfolio of newbuild and redeveloped offshore wind ports along the US East and West coasts to address the critical port infrastructure gap.
Homecoming, founded in 2019 by former Blackstone officer Cody Evans and Golub Capital alum Pat Arnold, invests in zero-emissions infrastructure, including transportation, power generation, and manufacturing.
This is its first investment into offshore wind, and Homecoming confirmed that it is prepared to provide additional capital to CET as its project portfolio matures.
“By developing the ports necessary to enable offshore wind, CET is poised to accelerate gigawatts of offshore wind deployment in the years to come,” said Evans.
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