Today, a prominent developer specializing in community-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) within the New York City metropolitan area has announced the securing of an additional $225 million equity capital commitment. This commitment comes from Manulife Investment Management and Carlyle , an existing institutional equity investor in NineDot. Manulife Investment Management has taken the lead in this round with a commitment of $135 million and has concurrently acquired an equity interest in NineDot. This fresh equity funding is anticipated to empower NineDot to progress its significant project pipeline in the New York City area, expand geographically, and potentially explore acquisitions. Combined with existing project financings from CIT, SMBC, and NY Green Bank, among others, NineDot has now established a capital base of approximately $400 million.
David Arfin, CEO, and co-founder of NineDot Energy expressed excitement about having Manulife Investment Management and Carlyle as equity investors and partners. Arfin highlighted the understanding of the importance of battery storage in modernizing the urban electric grid by these investors, emphasizing the benefits of making it cleaner, more resilient, more equitable, and less costly. He added that having such prominent infrastructure investors in their corner would energize NineDot’s future.
NineDot’s battery storage projects in New York City align with Governor Hochul’s ambitious roadmap for achieving 6,000 megawatts of energy storage capacity in New York State by 2030, aiming for 100% zero-emission electricity for the state by 2040. Battery storage plays a crucial role in New York’s sustainable energy infrastructure, facilitating more renewable energy integration, expediting the retirement of environmentally harmful “peaker” plants, and enhancing grid stability and resilience.
Recep Kendircioglu, Global Head of Infrastructure at Manulife Investment Management, expressed their belief in community-scale battery storage and the pleasure of forming a long-term equity partnership with NineDot Energy. They view NineDot as the leading BESS developer in a complex yet attractive market and look forward to supporting the team as they execute on their growth pipeline in New York.
NineDot aims to achieve 400 megawatts of battery storage capacity in development by the end of 2026 while adhering to stringent safety requirements outlined by the New York City Fire Department. Their initial battery storage site in the Pelham Gardens neighborhood of the Northeast Bronx became operational last summer, representing a pioneering community-scale battery storage system in NYC. It is designed to provide power and resilience to the local grid during peak demand. Additionally, NineDot has around 30 projects under construction across the New York metro area, with many more in development. A typical NineDot Energy 5-megawatt project is designed to power 5,000 New York City households for four hours on a peak summer day, contributing significantly to local decarbonization efforts.
“When we first backed NineDot in 2021, we recognized they had a unique strategy to support New York’s energy transition. Over the past two years we’ve worked closely with them as they’ve experienced tremendous success building out their platform and project pipeline. We look forward to partnering with Manulife Investment Management, providing further support to the NineDot team as they pursue their ambitious goals,” said Pooja Goyal, Chief Investment Officer of Carlyle’s Infrastructure Group.
As part of this transaction, Christopher McKenzie, a Managing Director on Manulife Investment Management’s Infrastructure team, will join NineDot’s Board of Directors.
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