ESR to Acquire Aquila’s 1.6 GW Asia-Pacific Clean Energy Platform for Data Centre Push
Singapore’s ESR will acquire Aquila Clean Energy APAC’s 1.6 GW solar, battery and wind platform across five Asia-Pacific markets to support data centres.
Photo by Mark Stebnicki on Pexels
Singapore-headquartered real asset manager ESR agreed on September 25, 2026, to acquire 100% of Aquila Clean Energy APAC, a solar, battery storage and wind development platform with 1.6 gigawatts of operating, under-construction and advanced-development assets across Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan, according to reporting by PV Tech and Institutional Real Estate, Inc. The seller is Aquila Group, a Hamburg-based investment and industrial development company co-founded and led by chief executive Roman Rosslenbroich. The deal value was not disclosed in any of the reviewed reports.
ESR, which owns logistics real estate and data centres across the region, said the acquisition reflects the growing overlap between power demand and its core businesses. ESR president Phil Pearce said: “As demand for logistics infrastructure, data centers and power becomes increasingly interconnected, we see significant opportunities at the intersection of these sectors, with energy infrastructure becoming an increasingly compelling area for long-term capital deployment,” according to Institutional Real Estate, Inc.’s report on the transaction.
What the ESR Aquila Clean Energy acquisition covers by market
In Australia, the acquired portfolio includes the Port Latta wind farm in Tasmania and four grid-scale battery projects in South Australia, with five further projects in development, energy news outlet RenewEconomy reported. In New Zealand, Aquila Clean Energy APAC operates the 38 MW Omeheu solar plant, which began operating in July 2026, alongside a development pipeline of more than 580 MW in the same country, according to PV Tech. The companies’ disclosures did not name specific projects in South Korea, Japan or Taiwan.
| Detail | Figure |
|---|---|
| Buyer | ESR (Singapore) |
| Seller | Aquila Group (Hamburg, Germany) |
| Stake acquired | 100% of Aquila Clean Energy APAC |
| Total portfolio | 1.6 GW (operating, under construction, advanced development) |
| Markets covered | Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan |
| Australia assets | Port Latta wind farm (Tasmania); 4 grid-scale battery projects (South Australia); 5 projects in development |
| New Zealand operating asset | Omeheu solar plant, 38 MW, operating since July 2026 |
| New Zealand development pipeline | 580+ MW |
| Deal value | Not disclosed |
| Expected completion | Q1 2027, subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals |
Source: PV Tech and Institutional Real Estate, Inc., September 25, 2026.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, PV Tech reported. Neither company’s disclosures specified which countries’ regulators must clear the deal.
Rising electricity demand from artificial intelligence and cloud computing has pushed logistics and data centre operators to secure their own power supply rather than rely solely on grid connections, a shift already visible in Spain’s move to require data centres to source 80% of their hourly power from renewables and in research showing rising heat and humidity are eroding data centre free cooling capacity. Regional developers have separately raised large sums to build the underlying generation and storage capacity that this demand requires, including Vena Energy’s A$1.4 billion green financing for Australian solar and battery storage.
Background: Aquila Group and Asia-Pacific clean energy consolidation
Aquila Group is a Hamburg-based investment and industrial development company that builds and manages infrastructure and natural resources assets, led by co-founder and chief executive Roman Rosslenbroich. Its Asia-Pacific clean energy arm expanded across five markets to develop solar, battery storage and wind projects, including the Port Latta wind farm in Tasmania and the Omeheu solar plant in New Zealand, which entered operation in July 2026. ESR, the buyer, is a Singapore-headquartered manager of logistics real estate and data centres across the Asia-Pacific region. The acquisition adds a 1.6 GW power-generation and storage platform to ESR’s holdings at a time when Australia connected a record 9.1 GW of renewables and storage to its main grid in the 2026 financial year, underscoring the pace of clean-energy build-out in the region ESR is now moving to capture directly.
Sources: PV Tech; Institutional Real Estate, Inc.; RenewEconomy; DealStreetAsia
Featured image: photo by Mark Stebnicki on Pexels (free Pexels license).
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I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.
