AVK has launched a dedicated funding arm that will finance and own on-site power infrastructure for data centres, formalising the Energy-as-a-Service strategy outlined alongside Partners Group’s investment last month.

AVK Capital will provide the capital for power infrastructure and retain ownership of the assets, while customers secure electricity through long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). It will also give work to AVK, as the firm will design, deliver, commission, operate and maintain the systems. 

The new model from AVK is being aimed at data centre developers facing constrained or delayed grid connections. While on-site generation has often been cited as an opportunity to overcome those constraints, it comes at a substantial upfront cost, but with AVK Capital funding the infrastructure, it could prove attractive. 

It was already clear that this was the direction of travel AVK was going in. Partners Group agreed in August to acquire a majority stake in AVK and initially invest more than $1 billion of equity, supplemented by debt financing. Part of that strategy was to expand AVK into Energy as a Service, with the company funding and owning power assets and securing long-term agreements with data centre customers.

Now that vision is coming to fruition with AVK Capital, which Ben Pritchard, CEO of AVK, said would sit alongside the company’s existing model rather than replace it.

He noted, “If they want to fund a project themselves, we will build it. If they would rather we funded, owned and operated it, we can now do that too.”

AVK says projects financed through the new arm could include microgrids, modular PowerPods, fuel cells, renewable energy integration and standby generation, depending on individual site requirements.

The company also says retaining ownership of the infrastructure will give it scope to modify power systems over their operating life as technologies and commercial conditions change.