Wells Fargo & Company has invested $5 million in the Carlyle/Riverstone Renewable Energy Infrastructure Fund I – its first investment in a private equity renewable energy fund. The investment is part of the Company’s pledge to provide $1 billion in lending, investments and other financial commitments by 2010 to environmentally beneficial business opportunities, including renewable energy.

 

"As a major financial services company, one of the ways we can benefit both the environment and our bottom line is by providing capital to renewable energy projects," said Barry Neal, head of Environmental Finance at Wells Fargo. "The renewable energy sector is growing very rapidly, driven by economic, technological and environmental factors and is a critical component of our nation’s push for cleaner forms of energy."

The Fund will invest in a breadth of renewable energy projects around the world, including wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and biofuels (ethanol and biodiesel) and will be managed by a joint venture of the Carlyle Group and Riverstone Holdings. Riverstone is a New York-based energy and power private equity fund manager with $6 billion under management. The Carlyle Group is a global private equity firm with $35 billion under management.

"We chose to invest in this fund based on the experience and track record of the fund’s management team and the fund’s global reach," said Neal, "and we look forward to being more active in the alternative energy market." The Company’s commitment to renewable energy extends to sustainable forestry, agriculture, water resource management, waste management, energy efficiency, and "green" building construction and development.

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with $482 billion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance to more than 23 million customers from more than 6,200 stores and the internet.