Ecofin Advisors appoints Eileen Fargis as Ecofin group lead & portfolio manager for RNEW

LONDON, UK: The Board of Ecofin U.S. Renewables Infrastructure Trust announced that the Company’s Investment Manager, Ecofin Advisors, LLC has appointed Eileen Fargis as the Ecofin group lead and portfolio manager for RNEW, effective today. Eileen’s appointment follows a competitive recruitment process led by Ecofin.

In her role as Managing Director – Private Equity Sustainable Infrastructure, Eileen will work closely with the team of experienced professionals at Ecofin, including Ed Russell, Senior Managing Director and Jason Benson, Director of Private Renewable Energy, who have been ultimately responsible for the asset management and project controllership of RNEW’s high quality portfolio of 62 U.S. solar and wind assets, spread across seven states with a total capacity of 162 MW.

Eileen has over 20 years’ industry experience, most recently as Head of Investments for InterEnergy Holdings (UK) Ltd, an independent developer, owner, and operator of 2.1 GW of energy generation assets and a utility in the Caribbean and Latin America.

Eileen is the former Co-Head of the $1 billion IFC African, Latin American and Caribbean Fund LP, a private equity fund investing on behalf of the International Finance Corporation.

Eileen started her career in energy and infrastructure with Skadden Arps and spent nine years at GE Capital Markets, GE Energy Financial Services and GE Structured Finance with a focus on global renewable energy and infrastructure assets. Eileen has previously served on the boards of InterEnergy Holdings, CityExpress Hotels and SURA Asset Management. Eileen is a graduate of Hamilton College and the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Brent Newcomb, President of Ecofin, commented: “We are thrilled to welcome Eileen to Ecofin. She will make an immediate impact on our team and the Company given her leadership and experience in the private sustainable infrastructure space. She brings expertise across all aspects of project finance along with a strong network in the power generation industry.”

Eileen Fargis, Managing Director, said: “I’m delighted to join the RNEW team as we provide this compelling investment product to investors. RNEW’s investment strategy is well positioned to benefit from the positive sectoral backdrop, driven by multi-year U.S. policy tailwinds supporting renewables.

The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) in August 2022 represents an unprecedented long-term policy boost for U.S. renewable energy with approximately $369 billion allocated towards climate infrastructure and energy security. The IRA includes provisions for extending tax credits for solar and wind through 2035 and introduces a new tax credit for standalone battery storage, which provides strong alignment with RNEW’s investment strategy.”

Eileen’s appointment strengthens the existing experienced senior management and asset management teams within Ecofin, who have ensured a smooth transition to new leadership. The team continues to focus on bringing a differentiated investment strategy to market, focused on U.S. middle market renewable energy assets.

The Company is fully invested with an attractive, long-term U.S. dollar denominated income stream from 100% contracted revenues and the U.S. renewable market continues to have a promising growth outlook with historic unified government support to achieve the 2035 carbon-free U.S. power sector goal.

Patrick O’D Bourke, Chair of RNEW, said: “Eileen’s appointment comes at an important time for RNEW and the U.S. renewables sector, as policy stimulus only strengthens the long-term investment case in U.S. wind, solar and battery storage. The Board is pleased with the high quality of RNEW’s portfolio and its stable and growing dividend performance to date, resulting from the Investment Manager’s active management of our 62 assets.

The focus on investment stewardship will continue and we look forward to a strong relationship with Eileen and her team to maintain RNEW’s commitment to delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns and a sustainable dividend to our shareholders.”