Established renewable energy developers including Innergex, National Grid Renewables and BayWa r.e. have all been the subject of merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in 2025. This shows there is still demand for corporate M&A deals even as President Trump causes short-term uncertainty for the renewable energy industry.
Has President Trump’s anti-renewables agenda led institutional investors to pause their green energy investment plans? Not if recent corporate M&A deals are anything to go by.
Last month, Brookfield Asset Management and institutional partners, including Brookfield Renewable Partners, agreed a deal to buy National Grid’s US renewable energy arm for $1.735bn. National Grid Renewables develops, builds and owns utility-scale onshore wind, solar and battery storage assets in the US, with 1.8GW in operation and a further 1.3GW under construction. The acquisition is due to close in September 2025.
Brookfield is acquiring National Grid Renewables to increase its US onshore renewables operations and help it meet rising demand for green power, including from data centres. It is not alone in doing so.
Last week, Canadian pensions giant La Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec said it is buying Canadian solar, wind and hydro developer Innergex in a transaction that values the company at C$10bn ($7bn). The deal is due to close by the end of 2025, and CDPQ said buying Innergex would help it to meet rising demand for electricity even if the Trump administration slows growth in the wind sector in North America over the next four years.
These two deals show that institutional investors are positive about the long-term prospects for renewables. The latter also suggests they will look to take advantage of the current upheaval in stock markets by acquiring listed renewables developers that they see as undervalued.
In addition, in December 2024, US-headquartered private equity firm Energy Capital Partners concluded its buyout of the renewables, transmission and infrastructure firm Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure for $2.55bn. ECP said the deal would help bolster its portfolio of renewables and related assets, and give it further potential for growth in Atlantica’s core markets of the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa.
These acquisitive strategies of institutional investors are markedly different from the headline-grabbing plans of oil and gas giants. For example, BP is reportedly looking to sell a stake in solar developer Lightsource BP as it seeks to reset its strategy to focus more on fossil fuels. This follows BP’s acquisition of a 50.03% stake in Lightsource BP for a reported £400m, which concluded in October 2024. We would not be surprised if it institutional investors are eyeing the subsidiary with interest.
Corporate M&A in Europe
We have seen renewable energy corporate M&A deals in Europe in the first two months of 2025 too.
In January, Dubai-headquartered software group Esyasoft agreed a nearly-£100m takeover of British green energy firm Good Energy; Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners bought minority stakes in Welsh developer Bute Energy and its affiliated firm Green GEN Cymru, as part of a £600m investment drive; and Energy Infrastructure Partners grew its stake in BayWa r.e. from 49% to 65% following a €150m capital increase.
Clearly, these are very different deals. The acquisition of Good Energy shows that a Middle Eastern company wants to get in to the UK retail energy market, and CIP’s deals in Wales show that it sees growth potential in the UK under the Labour government.
But both of these transactions, and the BayWa r.e. deal, should give companies in the wind sector confidence in the future. Despite the short-term political upheaval and economic challenges in some key markets, there is demand for corporate M&A transactions for established firms with stable revenue-generating assets in countries that have strong regulatory environments. Investors are keeping the faith in the energy transition.
Macro trends in M&A
We can see more macro-trends in M&A investments in the Energy Transition M&A Outlook Report that was published by law firm DLA Piper last month. The report found that the number of M&A deals concluded annually in the sustainable infrastructure sector increased 78% over two years, from 279 transactions totalling $3.3trn in 2022 to 497 totalling $5.2trn in 2024.
That expansion was driven by favourable policies for renewable energy investors, most notably the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, following the commitments to ‘build back better’ after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Institutional and utility buyers have particularly favoured acquisitions of developers that could deliver projects to capitalise on the supportive policies, rather than simple portfolio deals.
DLA Piper also noted that buyers in the last three years have been keen to conclude M&A deals that help them to manage increased demands to comply with environmental, social and governance (ESG), energy efficiency, and net zero policies.
But how is this going to change in a world where President Trump is scrapping these types of demands on businesses? After all, we are seeing that many businesses are following his lead by scrapping ESG and diversity strategies.
We believe corporate M&A deals for renewable energy developers and affiliated businesses will remain attractive. Electricity demand is growing and enough countries still see the logic of expanding their clean energy capacity. The political outlook has changed, but the energy transition will continue – even if it is at a slower pace.
Indeed, institutional investors may see the current upheaval as an opportunity. More may opt to pick up wind and solar development platforms during current tumultuous times, as long as they see them as undervalued and are confident in the industry’s long-term growth prospects. Some may simply shift their focus towards M&A deals in Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific in the short-term.
Trump has undoubtedly changed the game for renewables companies in 2025, which will need to adapt. Oil and gas giants BP and Shell have already taken the opportunity to cut back on their green plans. But none of this is a huge surprise, and companies in the wind sector have dealt with similar uncertainty before. There is still much to be positive about.
Strategic communications, insight and events for the global energy transition.