和 Swetha Gopinath LS Power 是一家北美电力基础设施的私营开发商兼投资者，该公司为其旗舰基金筹集了 60 亿美元，创下其迄今为止的最高纪录。这一成果出现在人工智能推动电力需求激增的背景下。
Power, a privately-held developer and investor in power infrastructure in North America, has raised $6 billion for its flagship fund, its largest to date, amid a surge in electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence.
据彭博新闻社看到的一份声明称，该基金——LS Power Equity Partners VI——的融资额超过了最初设定的 40 亿美元目标。该基金规模也超过了其前代基金，后者于 2024 年筹集了 27 亿美元。
The vehicle, LS Power Equity Partners VI, exceeded its initial $4 billion target, according to a statement seen by Bloomberg News. The fund is larger than its predecessor, which raised $2.7 billion in 2024.
“这是一个资本密集型行业，而投资机会从未像现在这样广阔，”总部位于曼哈顿的 LS Power 首席运营官 Darpan Kapadia 在一次采访中表示。“我认为我们部署的大部分资本都将用于运营项目。”该基金的需求反映了当前市场对兆瓦级电力资源的兴趣，因为美国电网正面临电力需求增长和基础设施老化带来的压力。由于供应链限制以及新建发电设施所需的时间较长，现有发电厂的价值已显著提升。
“It’s a capital-intensive business, and the opportunity set has never been bigger,” Darpan Kapadia, chief operating officer of Manhattan-based LS Power, said in an interview. “I think most of the capital we deploy will be into operating projects.”Demand for the fund illustrates the current interest in megawatts as the US grid comes under strain from the growth in power needs and aging infrastructure. Existing power plants have become significantly more valuable because of supply chain constraints and the time needed to build new generation plants.
今年 1 月，这家私募股权投资开发商以 120 亿美元的价格，向上市公司 NRG Energy Inc. 出售了一批天然气发电厂。
In January, the private equity developer sold a fleet of natural gas plants to publicly-traded power producer NRG Energy Inc. in a deal valued at $12 billion.
“电力需求的增长速度是我们几十年来从未见过的，”Kapadia 表示。他指出，数据中心的电力需求可能在 12 到 16 个月内显现，而新增电力供应则需要五年以上，“因此出现了这种供需错配。”该基金将投资天然气发电、可再生能源、电池、遍布电网的小型能源设施，以及可能包括其他关键能源基础设施。
“Power demand is growing at rates that we haven’t seen for decades,” Kapadia said. He noted that data center demand can show up in 12 to 16 months whereas new supply could take more than five years, “so you have this mismatch.”The fund will invest in natural gas-fired power, renewable energy sources, batteries, smaller energy resources dotting the grid and potentially in other critical energy infrastructure.
已筹集资金中近三分之一已经投入，其中约17亿美元用于该公司去年三月从康斯泰勒能源公司（Constellation Energy Corp.）收购的天然气资产。作为美国这家电力公司收购卡尔平公司（Calpine Corp.）这一里程碑式交易所引发的强制性资产剥离计划的一部分，该投资者已同意从康斯泰勒公司总共收购约50亿美元的美国发电资产。
Nearly a third of the money raised has already been deployed, with about $1.7 billion going to the firm’s acquisition of natural gas-powered assets from Constellation Energy Corp. this past March. The investor has agreed to buy about $5 billion of US electric-generation assets in total from Constellation, as part of the mandated divestitures stemming from the US power company’s landmark acquisition of Calpine Corp.
声明称，第六支基金（Fund VI）获得了养老基金、保险公司、主权财富基金、资产管理公司、家族办公室及其他机构的承诺投资。截至目前，六支基金总共已筹集约130亿美元资本。
Fund VI attracted commitments from pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, asset managers, family offices and others, according to the statement. Altogether, six funds to date have raised about $13 billion of capital.