A Clean Energy Playbook For The Global South — Ep196: Lucy Heintz

The global south needs to build out vast amounts of clean energy,
and requires hundreds of billions of dollars annually to do. And
yet, only a fraction of the investment going into clean energy
and the net-zero transition is flowing into those growth markets.
So why are so few investing?


Lucy Heintz is partner and head of energy infrastructure at
Actis, whose most recent Energy Fund represents over $6 billion
of investable capital. She is a driving force behind the small
slice of investment which does address clean energy in growth
markets. 


Lucy joins Cleaning Up to unpack Actis' approach to investing in
critical clean energy infrastructure projects across the Global
South. From assembling renewable energy platforms to managing
foreign exchange risks, Lucy shares the strategies that have
historically allowed Actis to succeed in markets that many
consider to be too risky. 


The Acronym Corner:


BII - British International Investment; the UK's development
finance institution. https://www.bii.co.uk/en/

LP - Limited Partner, the capital provider for fund

DFI - Development Finance Institution, e.g. BII

DISCO - A distribution company, in places like India and
Pakistan. Responsible for distributing energy from producers to
consumers.

DNO - Similar to a DISCO but UK focused, a company licensed
to distribute electricity.

PPA - Power Purchase Agreement — A long term contract
between an electricity producer and a customer, that guarantees
electricity be bought and sold at a pre-negotiated price for the
period of the agreement.

MIGA - The World Bank's Multilateral Investment Guarantee
Agency. Its mandate is to promote cross-border investment in
developing countries by providing guarantees (political risk
insurance and credit enhancement) to investors and lenders. See:
https://www.miga.org/about-us



Leadership Circle: 


Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its
founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner,
EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini
Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature
Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on
the Leadership Circle, please visit
https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Links and more: 


Actis Energy Infrastructure Fund:
https://www.act.is/about-us/sectors/energy/

Inside the World's Biggest Investor - Ep138: Carine Smith
Ihenacho

The Bridgetown Initiator - Ep145: Prof Avinash Persaud

Enabling Africa's Green Energy Revolution - Ep120: Ana
Hajduka

Actis 2024 highlights film:

Intro to Actis film:

IPE: Generating alpha returns in energy infrastructure

Infrastructure Investor: Shining a spotlight on emerging
markets

New Private Markets, De-risking transition investments in
emerging markets
 



Disclaimer:


The statements made by Actis executives are as at February 2025
and are not necessarily representative of the views of executives
of portfolio companies in which Actis has invested, and Actis
assumes no obligation to update the information herein. Please
refer to the following link for further important information in
relation to this podcast:
https://www.cleaningup.live/a-clean-energy-playbook-for-the-global-south-ep196-lucy-heintz/