Acquisition of AES Corp. Would Grow BlackRock's Energy Assets Across World

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--New York City-based BlackRock Incorporated has become something of a juggernaut in the world's energy-infrastructure sector. Already the largest asset manager in the world with $12.5 trillion of assets in its possession, the firm is set to grow even more with the potential acquisition of AES Corporation (Arlington, Virginia), reportedly bidding $38 billion to acquire the multinational energy company.

The acquisition comes under the auspices of BlackRock subsidiary Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) (New York), another increasingly prevalent name when it comes to infrastructure assets. BlackRock announced its intended acquisition of GIP in January 2024 and completed the purchase in October. In 2024, GIP itself went on a buying tear. U.S. assets acquired by the company last year include a 50% stake in Train 4 of NextDecade Corporation's (Houston, Texas) Rio Grande liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Texas for $1.5 billion, which will drop to a 30% stake once certain returns are achieved. The investment, along with another at the same time from TotalEnergies (Courbevoie, France) and a green light from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), encouraged NextDecade the following month to make a positive financial investment decision on the project. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can learn more by viewing the project report. BlackRock itself last year increased its holdings in major U.S. LNG-producer Cheniere Energy (Houston) to 7.1%. GIP also held and profited from other stakes in U.S. companies and assets such a part ownership of the Ruby Pipeline, 680-mile natural gas serving the Rocky Mountains region, as well as previous stake power generation developer Competitive Power Ventures (Silver Spring, Maryland).

Now GIP and its parent company are preparing to grow even more and strengthen possession of assets both inside and outside the U.S. with the proposed acquisition of AES, which boasts a presence in 15 countries, with an emphasis on renewable energy, which accounts for 50% of its energy mix, along with gas' 32% and coal at 16%. Industrial Info is tracking more than $48 billion of active AES projects across 10 countries, with the U.S. leading the pack, followed in a distant second place by Vietnam. AES' U.S. project portfolio is renewables-focused, consisting of more than 90% wind and solar projects.

Within the U.S., Industrial Info is tracking more than $3.2 billion worth of AES projects that are presently under construction, consisting solely of wind and solar power along with battery energy storage systems (BESS). One of the largest projects on which the company is currently at work is the West Camp Windfarm near Joseph City, Arizona, about 80 miles west of Flagstaff. Spread over a 52,500-acre area, the windfarm will boast 89 Vestas turbines, each rated at 4.5 megawatts (MW), to provide aggregate generation of around 400 MW. Coupled with the solar system will be a BESS unit with a 250-MW capacity. Project manager M.A. Mortenson Company (Minneapolis, Minnesota) began turning dirt on the facility at the beginning of this year and is expected to wrap up the project by mid-2027. Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Power Project Database can learn more by viewing the project report.

AES is underway with an even more substantial development near California City, California, where it is constructing the 500-MW Bellefield solar plant joined by a 500-MW, 2,000-megawatt-hour BESS unit. Both parts of the project are expected to be completed later this year. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the related project reports.

While Industrial Info is tracking no AES projects presently under construction in Vietnam, its backlog of potential projects in the country includes substantial undertakings such as 2,250-MW LNG-fueled power plant and an offshore windfarm whose four phases of construction would lead to 4 gigawatts of renewable power generation. Subscribers can click here for a list of AES' Vietnam projects.

In addition to GIP's potential AES acquisition, the company's proposed $6.2 billion acquisition of U.S. power utility ALLETE Incorporated (Duluth, Minnesota) in partnership with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is being scrutinized by Minnesota regulators. GIP also has reportedly made a $40 billion bid for U.S. data center behemoth Aligned Data Centers (Plano, Texas).

The ALLETE deal was approved by FERC late last year, but regulators and a judge have raised concerns over the New York City-based asset manager's influence over a company that includes 150,000 Minnesotans. Industrial Info is tracking more than 50 operational ALLETE facilities, mostly in Minnesota, and more than $3 billion worth of active projects from the company. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the related project reports.

Aligned Data Centers' list of current and potential projects is even more substantial, accounting for up to $14.3 billion in both North American and South America. The company's largest project presently under construction is Phase I of a data center in Sandusky, Ohio, which is presently wrapping up and could lead to three subsequent construction phases, resulting in the entire project running at an estimated $1.4 billion. Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can learn more by viewing the related project reports.

Whether all of these GIP transactions will materialize remains to be seen, but one thing is increasingly clear: BlackRock and GIP are becoming increasingly responsible for large swathes of the industries and infrastructure that modern make in the 21st Century possible

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view reports for many of the projects discussed in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).