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Generate Capital | Sustainable Infrastructure Finance
Sustainable Development Goals
Company Overview
Generate Capital, PBC is a San Francisco-headquartered infrastructure investment and operating platform that finances, builds, owns, and operates sustainable infrastructure assets across North America. Founded in 2014 by Scott Jacobs, Jigar Shah, and Matan Friedman, the company was established to address a financing gap for distributed, resource-efficient infrastructure projects that traditional lenders were not structured to serve.
Generate operates across four core areas: data centers and digital infrastructure, distributed energy and power infrastructure, energy efficiency and electrification, and sustainable and specialty infrastructure. Rather than functioning purely as an asset manager, the company combines permanent capital with in-house project development, asset management, and operations, an approach it describes as “infrastructure-as-a-service.”
Since inception, Generate has raised more than $14 billion in equity and debt capital and built a portfolio of over 2,000 assets through more than 50 partnerships with technology providers and developers. The company’s investor base includes major pension funds and institutional investors such as CalSTRS, HESTA, QIC, and AustralianSuper. David Crane was appointed Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board in September 2025. Generate maintains offices in San Francisco, New York, and the Washington, D.C. area, and its activities span project types including community solar, battery storage, renewable natural gas, water and wastewater treatment, electric vehicle fleet financing, and data center power infrastructure.
Why These SDGs Matter
Generate’s core business is financing and operating distributed renewable energy, storage, and efficiency assets, directly supporting SDG 7 by expanding access to affordable, lower-carbon power. Its infrastructure-as-a-service model, which builds and owns physical assets rather than only providing capital, connects directly to SDG 9’s focus on resilient infrastructure and industrial innovation. Many of its investments, including community solar projects and municipal water and wastewater infrastructure, deliver resource and energy benefits to specific communities, supporting SDG 11. Its financing of anaerobic digestion, renewable natural gas, and liquid-waste treatment platforms converts waste streams into usable energy and resources, aligning with SDG 12’s emphasis on resource efficiency and reduced waste. Across its portfolio, from solar and storage to fleet electrification and green hydrogen, Generate’s stated purpose is accelerating decarbonization of energy, transportation, and industrial systems, directly supporting SDG 13.
Products & Services
- Long-term capital financing for sustainable infrastructure projects
- Ownership and operation of distributed energy assets
- Community solar project development and tax equity financing
- Battery and energy storage project financing and development
- Renewable natural gas and anaerobic digestion asset financing
- Data center power and cooling infrastructure financing
- Electric vehicle fleet electrification financing
- Water and wastewater treatment infrastructure financing
- Indoor agriculture and hydroponic greenhouse project financing
- Green hydrogen project investment
Business Challenges Solved
- High upfront capital costs for distributed sustainable infrastructure
- Limited institutional financing access for infrastructure developers
- Fragmented ownership and operations of small-scale renewable assets
- Slow community and commercial solar deployment due to financing gaps
- Grid capacity constraints for large loads such as data centers
- Financing gaps in food-waste-to-energy and biogas project development
- High capital intensity of municipal and school fleet electrification
Approach & Methodology
Generate’s operating model centers on what it calls “infrastructure-as-a-service”: rather than acting solely as a capital provider, the company builds, owns, and operates sustainable infrastructure assets over their full lifecycle. This combines permanent balance-sheet capital with in-house project finance structuring, including tax equity, credit facilities, and project-level debt, alongside ongoing asset management and operations functions.
The company structures investments across two primary strategies: equity investments in infrastructure platforms and project portfolios, and credit strategies that provide debt financing to developers and operators. Generate partners with technology providers and project developers across sectors, including solar developers, battery storage integrators, biogas and RNG technology firms, and data center operators, rather than developing proprietary hardware itself.
A dedicated asset management function oversees operations and performance across the owned portfolio, which spans distributed generation, storage, water treatment, and fleet electrification assets. Investment decisions run through an internal investment committee structure. The company has also formed joint ventures, such as a fleet electrification-as-a-service venture with a bus manufacturer, and strategic collaborations, such as a power and cooling infrastructure partnership with a data center equipment supplier, to combine its financing and operating capabilities with technical and manufacturing partners’ expertise.
Market Position
Generate occupies a position among large-scale, permanently capitalized infrastructure investors focused on sustainability, alongside firms such as Brookfield’s renewable power and transition group. Its primary customers are project developers, technology manufacturers, and large power consumers such as data center operators and municipalities, rather than individual retail buyers. Generate is backed by major institutional investors including CalSTRS, HESTA, QIC, and AustralianSuper, reflecting a base of pension and long-duration capital. Its differentiation stems from combining balance-sheet financing with direct asset ownership and operations across multiple infrastructure verticals (energy, water, waste, and mobility), rather than operating as a narrower single-sector fund or a pure financial intermediary that exits positions after a fixed hold period.
Procurement Considerations
- Financing structure and cost of capital terms offered
- Track record with the specific asset class or technology involved
- Asset ownership versus lease or power purchase agreement structuring
- Contract tenor and refinancing or exit flexibility
- Division of ongoing operations and maintenance responsibilities
- Balance sheet scale and creditworthiness of the financing partner
- Familiarity with relevant state or regional regulatory frameworks
- Alignment with existing technology and developer partnerships
Funding, Recognition & Ecosystem
- Raised over $14 billion in equity and debt capital since inception
- $1.5 billion equity raise closed January 2024, backed by CalSTRS, HESTA, QIC, and AustralianSuper
- $1.2 billion corporate credit facility and term loan secured November 2024
- Over $1 billion raised across credit strategies in the twelve months to November 2025
- C$60 million financing from Fiera Infrastructure Private Debt for Generate Upcycle’s RNG portfolio, October 2025
- $85 million community solar tax equity fund closed with KeyState, October 2025
- Named to Fortune’s 2023 Best Workplaces in the Bay Area
- Named among Fast Company’s 10 Most Innovative Companies in Finance, 2023
Natnavi Analysis
Generate Capital represents a distinct model within sustainable infrastructure finance: rather than functioning as a pass-through investment vehicle, it retains ownership and operational responsibility for the assets it finances, spanning solar, storage, water treatment, biogas, and fleet electrification. This approach positions the company as both a capital source and an operating partner for developers who need financing paired with long-term asset management capability, a combination that can be difficult for smaller developers to access through conventional lenders.
The company’s growth, from a 2014 founding to more than $14 billion raised and over 2,000 assets, reflects sustained institutional investor appetite for infrastructure-based climate exposure, including from large pension funds. Its recent expansion into data center power and cooling infrastructure also signals a strategic pivot toward capturing financing demand tied to rising electricity loads from computing infrastructure.
As with any infrastructure investment platform of this scale, the company’s public disclosures are necessarily selective, drawn primarily from press releases and news coverage rather than audited portfolio-level performance data. Figures on total capital raised and asset counts are self-reported and vary slightly across sources and time periods, which is a common characteristic of this asset class rather than one specific to Generate.
Sources & References
- ImpactAlpha: Agents of Impact: Scott Jacobs and Jigar Shah, Generate Capital
- ESG Today: Generate Capital Raises $1.5 Billion for Sustainable Infrastructure Investments
- Fiera Capital: Fiera Infrastructure Private Debt Provides Financing for Generate Upcycle
- Fast Company: The 10 Most Innovative Companies in Finance of 2023
- BusinessWire: Leading Global Institutions Invest in a Clean Energy Future With Generate Capital
Founded: 2014
Company Stage: Enterprise
Headquarters
San Francisco, California, United States
San Francisco, California, United States
Geographic Presence
Generate’s operations are concentrated in the United States, with headquarters in San Francisco and offices in New York and the Washington, D.C. area. Its owned and financed infrastructure assets are located across multiple U.S. states, including community solar projects in New York and Illinois and industrial facilities in Washington and Virginia. The company also finances renewable natural gas assets in Ontario, Canada, and has made at least one infrastructure investment in the United Kingdom.
Generate’s operations are concentrated in the United States, with headquarters in San Francisco and offices in New York and the Washington, D.C. area. Its owned and financed infrastructure assets are located across multiple U.S. states, including community solar projects in New York and Illinois and industrial facilities in Washington and Virginia. The company also finances renewable natural gas assets in Ontario, Canada, and has made at least one infrastructure investment in the United Kingdom.
Solution Type
Asset Manager, Service Provider, Technology Provider
Asset Manager, Service Provider, Technology Provider
Sustainability Outcomes
Circular Economy, Climate Resilience, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy Adoption, Sustainable Infrastructure, Transport Decarbonization, Waste Reduction, Water Conservation
Circular Economy, Climate Resilience, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy Adoption, Sustainable Infrastructure, Transport Decarbonization, Waste Reduction, Water Conservation
Industries Served
Agriculture & Food, Construction & Real Estate, Energy & Utilities, Government & Public Sector, IT & Digital Infrastructure, Manufacturing, Transportation & Logistics
Agriculture & Food, Construction & Real Estate, Energy & Utilities, Government & Public Sector, IT & Digital Infrastructure, Manufacturing, Transportation & Logistics
Last Reviewed: September 2, 2026
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