EnCap Investments LP successfully closed a new billion-dollar fund on May 4 targeting renewable energy investments—the Houston-based firm’s first in the energy transition space.

The fund, EnCap Energy Transition Fund I LP, raised approximately $1.2 billion in commitments from a “diverse set of domestic and international investors,” a release from EnCap said. Investors included corporate and government-sponsored pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, endowments, foundations and high-net-worth individuals.

Since its launch in 1988, EnCap has raised roughly $38 billion for energy investments primarily in upstream and midstream oil and gas companies. However, in 2019, the private equity firm formed a new energy transition team to expand its investments to “companies that advance the nation’s transition to a lower-carbon future.”

“We believe there are continued profitable investment opportunities across the entire energy value chain, and the addition of this third platform allows us to create dynamic companies that are transforming North America’s power grid,” EnCap Managing Partner Doug Swanson said in a statement.

EnCap has already deployed capital from its energy transition fund in five platform investments in the battery storage, distributed power and utility-scale solar and wind sectors—Broad Reach Power, Catalyze, Jupiter Power, Solar Proponent and Triple Oak Power.

“With the support of our investors, we have been able to establish five enterprises that are supporting the transition of the power grid, and their early progress is exceeding our expectations,” said EnCap Energy Transition Managing Partner Jim Hughes.

Hughes is joined on the EnCap Energy Transition team by Tim Rebhorn, Kellie Metcalf and Shawn Cumberland, who previously worked together at Prisma Energy and other firms before joining EnCap.

EnCap Investments Managing Partner Jason DeLorenzo added in a statement: “Coupling our 33-year investment track record with the power and renewable experience of our energy transition team, we have established a best-in-class platform to support a less carbon-intensive future and look forward to supporting its growth over the next decade.”

Vinson & Elkins LLP served as legal counsel to EnCap on the formation of the energy transition fund.

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