Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) has taken a 50% stake in a Spanish and Portuguese renewables-focussed investment vehicle co-created by Canadian pension fund OPTrust.
The €225m (£194m) investment in Bruc Energy in return for the stake in a pipeline of 4000 MW of solar photovoltaic farms was arranged by USS' investment management subsidiary USS Investment Management (USSIM).
It comes after USS - the UK's largest pension scheme with £68bn in assets - set a net-zero target for its investments of 2050 or sooner earlier this month.
USSIM said Spain's sunny climate and national target to reach renewable-based generation by 2050 made it an attractive location for solar energy investments.
"We know that our members care very much about climate change and ESG and we are convinced that USS playing its part in supporting the transition to a low carbon economy makes good financial sense too," said chief executive Simon Pilcher.
"Demand for this will only increase as more and more countries transition to lower carbon."
Co-head of direct equity Gavin Merchant added: "The long-term nature of solar and the steady returns make renewables attractive to a pension scheme needing to pay pensions for years to come."
