Australia’s Rest allocates A$1 billion to Quinbrook’s renewables strategy

Australian pension giant Rest disclosed today it is investing A$1 billion in green data centres and sustainable digitisation via clean energy asset manager Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners. 

"The commitment looks to provide exposure to a range of assets, such as solar and battery projects and green data storage centres," Andrew Lill, Rest’s chief investment officer, said in a statement seen by Net Zero Investor.

This includes Quinbrook’s Supernode green data campus in Brisbane, believed to be the largest in the southern hemisphere.

Lill called sustainable digitisation "key to allowing the rapid transformation and connectivity of the global economy to continue in an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly manner."

He added: "In a world increasingly reliant on data, and through the global growth in cloud-based technologies and AI, data centres have become big business and demand for this critical infrastructure is expected to accelerate."

Lill went on to point out that "repositories for the storage, management and dissemination of data require significant investments and huge amounts of energy."

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Quinbrook’s investment strategies focus on solar energy plus storage, green data centres and renewables for energy intensive industries as well as distributed energy solutions.

The investment in Quinbrook aims to provide strong long-term financial returns through greater exposure to next-generation infrastructure in Australia and beyond, Lill added, pointing out his pension fund represents more than a million members aged 30 or younger. 

Established in 1988, Rest is one of Australia’s largest superannuation funds, with nearly 1.96 million members and around A$75 billion in funds under management as at 30 June 2023.

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