LONDON, UK – Equitix Limited (“Equitix”), a leading international investor, developer and fund manager in infrastructure and Sust Global, a climate risk modeling and services partner to institutional investors, today announced a joint partnership funded by the UK Space Agency  to analyze climate change’s impact on wind energy generation assets. 

“Climate change will alter global wind speeds and these changes will not be uniform,” said Joe Robinson, Manager of ESG & Sustainability at Equitix. “With a growing portfolio in renewable power, including investments in >5.5GW of installed generation capacity across 7 major offshore wind farms, it is imperative that we understand how climate change will impact our existing assets, and create a process for us to analyse prospective investments. Our partnership with Sust Global will ensure that we remain at the fore in terms of delivering strategic insight and enhanced value for our investors, whilst also making material contributions to the UK’s energy transition and Net Zero ambitions.”

Sust Global’s satellite-derived observational data and artificial intelligence will be used to develop novel high-resolution wind speed models and forward-looking wind speed analytics, to determine how changing wind speeds will impact each of Equitix’s wind energy assets. The project is receiving grant funding from the UK Space Agency as part of its Unlocking Space for Business programme, which encourages the use of satellite data in the UK’s financial sector. 

“While wind speed impacts vary globally, geospatial AI techniques trained on the satellite-derived datasets can be game changing for renewable infrastructure asset managers, like Equitix.” said Gopal Erinjippurath, CTO of Sust Global. 

Using these cutting-edge models and analytics, Equitix and Sust Global will collaborate to create climate-focused financial model inputs, such as climate-adjusted wind capacity factors, to be used in Equitix’s investment and risk management processes.

“Infrastructure investors have already begun to face climate-related risks impacting asset performance and financials. To navigate this reality, new datasets and advanced intelligence can bridge the gap between climate and finance,” said Josh Gilbert, CEO of Sust Global. “Our partnership with Equitix and the UK Space Agency will empower investors with cutting edge insights, enabling more informed and climate-resilient investment decisions and portfolios.”

“We’re looking forward to working with Equitix and Sust Global on this project, which will combine satellite data with AI to build wind speed models, to analyse the impact of climate change on wind energy generation assets. This is a great example of how satellite data can be used to help tackle the climate emergency”, said Lydia Green, Head of Unlocking Space at the UK Space Agency.

“The Unlocking Space for Business grants and contracts are just some of the ways the UK Space Agency is supporting growth to position the UK as a leading space economy. It’s vital we help tackle barriers facing organisations that have not traditionally used satellite data or services, or considered how space can benefit their bottom line.”

About Equitix

Equitix is a responsible investor, developer and manager of core infrastructure assets and critical services which materially contributes to the lives of the communities they serve. Established in 2007, Equitix manages over £11bn in assets under management, invested across 360+ assets in 22 countries. Equitix is helping to deliver the green transition with social and environmental objectives embedded into a diverse portfolio of critical infrastructure assets that strengthen regional, national, and international connections. Creating a lasting legacy for generations.

About Sust Global

Sust Global is a climate risk modeling and services firm that partners with institutional investors to build high-value geospatial climate analytics for use in investment and risk management. Today, Sust Global is trusted by asset owners, asset managers, and financial data providers to support risk management workflows in infrastructure, real estate, and other real asset classes and to synthesize climate risk practices across portfolios and organizations. Their best-in-class climate hazard models (Chartis Research, 2023) are built using a patented AI-based approach that applies insights from remote sensing and frontier climate research. Learn more at sustglobal.com.