Global alternative asset and private equity investor KKR announced today the launch of Stellar Renewable Power, a new platform aimed at originating long-duration high-yielding solar energy investments, including utility-scale solar plants and storage facilities, on behalf of the firm’s Asset-Based Finance (ABF) strategy.

According to KKR, the new platform will source opportunities through greenfield development and acquisitions of early-stage assets from other developers, and will develop, scale and operate the projects. Funding for the new platform’s activities will come from separate insurance accounts managed by KKR.

Stellar will be lead by Vijay Venkatachalam, who joined the platform from SoftBank Group’s renewable energy-focused platform SB Energy, where he served as CFO. Over the next few months, Venkatachalam will build out Stellar’s team of solar energy professionals.

Christopher Mellia, Managing Director at KKR, said:

“As the need for renewable energy continues to grow substantially, we look forward to working together with Vijay and his team to source and develop high-quality solar energy investments that are a strong fit for our long-term capital.”

KKR has been an actively investing in the renewable energy space over the past several years. Over the last decade, KKR has executed nearly $20 billion in investments in renewable assets with a power generation capacity of 12.5 GW. On the ABF side, KKR has deployed more than $5 billion in 49 investments since 2016.

Venkatachalam said:

“Demand for clean power is greater now than ever before and I’m confident that with KKR’s strong backing, Stellar has the right foundation, resources and expertise to create an industry leading renewable energy platform on a global scale.”