The first new energy real estate ABS listing: Why it has become a hot commodity for Fortune Global 500 companies

Summary:

This dual attribute of "financial + green" returns makes it irresistibly attractive among assets with similar risk-return profiles, becoming a sought-after asset for insurance funds, proprietary securities firms, bank wealth management, and industrial groups.

 

Written by | Wei Xiaoni

Edited by | Jimmy

→ This is the 1646th original article of "Global Zero Carbon"

 

 

Buying green electricity and green certificates has become a trendy form of corporate consumption. However, for some "patient capital" seeking long-term, stable returns, and for "smart money" with deep industry knowledge capable of truly understanding and evaluating the underlying asset value, they have started directly purchasing new energy assets.

 

On August 8, 2025, a landmark financial product — "Taikang Asset - Caitong - Envision New Energy Holding Real Estate Asset-Backed Special Plan (Carbon Neutral)" (abbreviated as "Envision Energy ABS") — was officially listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, with the security code 265472.

 

As the market's first clean energy holding real estate asset-backed security (ABS), this product has an issuance scale of 285 million yuan, a term of 50 years, and is backed by the Hengpeng Wind Farm in Weixian County, Handan City, Hebei Province.

 

 

 

The successful issuance of this ABS not only solved the long-term financing dilemma of clean energy but also became a "hot commodity" for Fortune Global 500 companies.

 

According to relevant information, subscribers of the "Envision Energy ABS" product span insurance funds, proprietary securities firms, bank wealth management, and industrial groups. These include Industrial Bank's Industrial Wealth Management and Industrial Trust, Shandong Energy Group's Shaneng Capital, Taikang Life Insurance's Taikang Asset, Caitong Securities' Caitong Asset Management, as well as foreign Fortune 500 companies like Toyota Tsusho.

 

The parent companies or affiliates of these enterprises are listed among the 2025 Fortune Global 500. For example, Toyota Tsusho, Taikang Life Insurance, Shandong Energy Group, and Industrial Bank are all Fortune Global 500 companies.

 

Why has this first new energy real estate ABS attracted global giants to compete for investment? This phenomenon is not accidental but the inevitable result of a high alignment among macro trends, product innovation, asset quality, and investors' strategic needs.

 

 

1. Green financial innovation: The birth of the first holding real estate ABS.

 

China's wind power industry is at a critical stage of "anti-involution." Traditional wind power projects face uncertainties such as limited power consumption and price fluctuations, urgently needing innovative financing models to revitalize existing assets and promote the industry's shift from policy-driven to market-driven self-circulation.

 

In 2024, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the "Green Low-Carbon Transition Action Plan," clearly proposing "innovating green financial products and supporting clean energy asset securitization," strategically guiding the direction for new energy asset securitization.

 

The listing of Envision Energy ABS is a structural innovation under this background.

 

Holding real estate ABS differs from traditional "debt-type" ABS or whole-station sale models. By standardizing and fractionalizing wind power projects, it realizes a "holding-type" investment mechanism, allowing investors to hold asset shares long-term and enjoy cash flow dividends.

 

This product was accepted on March 31, 2025, approved on May 19, taking only 50 days, reflecting regulatory efficiency in supporting green finance. As the first clean energy product, Envision Energy ABS fills the gap in wind power asset securitization and paves the way for more high-quality new energy assets to enter the capital market.

 

Although the issuance scale of this ABS is only 285 million yuan, its significance far exceeds the number itself. It marks a new stage of deep integration between the new energy industry and capital markets, aiding the achievement of the "dual carbon" goals.

 

From the perspective of financial product design, it has the following innovations:

 

First, the innovative "holding-type real estate ABS" model.

 

Unlike the common debt-type ABS based on accounts receivable or fee rights, "Envision Energy ABS" is China's first clean energy holding real estate ABS. Its core innovation is that it securitizes not only future electricity fee cash flows but also the equity of the project company itself. Investors indirectly hold the equity of the underlying wind farm project company by purchasing ABS shares, thus becoming "shareholders" of the real estate (wind farm).

 

This model transforms a non-standard, illiquid physical project into standardized securities tradable on the secondary market, opening a new and efficient channel for long-term capital to enter the clean energy field.

 

Second, the equity-type ABS profit-sharing mechanism.

 

This product adopts an equity-type ABS structure without fixed expected returns or coupon rates, instead using net profits generated by the underlying project operations as the dividend source. This means investors' returns are directly linked to the actual operational performance of the wind farm.

 

This "risk-sharing, profit-sharing" model fundamentally changes the traditional debt financing mindset of "fixed interest," making investors and project operators a community of interest jointly committed to improving the long-term operational efficiency and value of the asset.

 

For investors, this provides an opportunity to directly share in the dividends of China's green energy development.

 

Third, the ultra-long duration design.

 

The approximately 50-year ultra-long term of this ABS product highly matches the economic life of infrastructure assets like wind farms. This not only provides unprecedented long-term stable capital for the project but also offers a perfect match for "patient capital" such as insurance funds and pensions seeking long-term, stable returns. It successfully turns the "long-cycle" attribute of the asset from a financing pain point into a highlight attracting specific investors.

 

Diagram of Envision's integrated production and sales operation model

 

 

2. Underlying asset value: stable cash flow and dual green attributes.

 

The core reason "Envision Energy ABS" attracts global giants is the outstanding value of its underlying asset — Hengpeng Wind Farm in Weixian County, Handan City, Hebei Province.

 

The underlying asset of Envision Energy ABS is the Hengpeng Wind Power Project in Weixian County, Handan City, Hebei Province, with a total installed capacity of 100MW, a 30MWh/0.5C smart trading energy storage system, and a 110kV modular booster station.

 

The project was fully grid-connected by the end of 2024, with a total investment of 610 million yuan (according to Hebei Energy Bureau data), and an expected average annual power generation of 230 million kWh. The main revenue sources are wind power feed-in tariffs and green environmental rights (green certificates).

 

The project has demonstrated outstanding performance after half a year of operation: 150 million kWh of electricity fed into the grid, over 1,500 comprehensive utilization hours, a site energy utilization rate of 99.1%, an RBA (Revenue-Based Availability) higher than 95%, and wind farm electricity prices above the market average.

 

The comprehensive settlement electricity price is 0.375 yuan/kWh, about 0.01 yuan higher than the benchmark price, with market transaction prices reaching 0.437 yuan/kWh in April and May. Annual electricity revenue is approximately 86.25 million yuan.

 

At this cash flow recovery rate, the entire investment cost can be recouped in 6-7 years.

 

This stable return benefits from Envision Energy's pioneering "integrated production and sales" wind-storage operation model, providing 20 years of trustee-style operation, trading, and maintenance management services, reducing risks related to major components, consumption, and electricity prices. Compared to traditional power plants, this project has several highlights:

 

First, the operational goal shifts from "production" to "revenue", from the traditional actual/expected energy availability (EBA) to actual/expected revenue availability (RBA) assessment, ensuring stable returns.

 

Second, the trading model, through the power trading team and EnOS intelligent IoT system, achieves higher settlement electricity prices, increasing by more than 0.02 yuan/kWh compared to the market average.

 

Third, integrated production and sales collaboration: coordinated operation among trading, operation, and maintenance teams optimizes downtime and energy storage output, increasing annual site revenue by 12 yuan/kW.

 

Additionally, Envision has launched a "large model + central factory" dual-driven approach, providing full-scenario long-cycle trustee operation and maintenance. In the 2024 list of fault-free wind farm management achievements, over 100 wind farms using Envision intelligent turbines were listed, with average annual utilization hours exceeding the national level by 230 hours. These innovations ensure long-term asset sustainability and attract investor favor.

 

The project is also equipped with an intelligent energy storage system, fully self-developed and manufactured, from battery cells to SCADA systems, enhancing electricity consumption capacity.

 

Most importantly, this product's "carbon-neutral" label and green attributes carry immense tangible and intangible value.

 

For investors, holding shares of this ABS not only provides financial returns but can also be counted towards their ESG investment quotas or used to offset their own carbon emissions. The product itself is a "standardized carbon-neutral service tool" that helps investing enterprises and their supply chains achieve decarbonization and ESG requirements.

 

This dual attribute of "financial + green" returns gives it incomparable attractiveness among assets with similar risk-return profiles.

 

 

3. Why are Fortune Global 500 companies scrambling to buy: ESG demand and stable returns.

 

In the transaction structure of "Envision Energy ABS," Taikang Asset acts as the plan manager, Caitong Securities as the financial advisor, and Industrial Bank as the trustee. The affiliated companies of these firms are also investors, showing high recognition of this product.

 

 

 

Why are these giants competing to invest?

 

First, ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) demand is the core driving force. Envision Energy ABS, as a standardized "carbon-neutral service tool," allows investors to obtain green certificates for power generation projects, aiding supply chain collaborative decarbonization.

 

Toyota Tsusho is a typical case. As a global industrial and trading giant, its participation reflects the product's global appeal and supply chain empowerment value.

 

The Toyota Group has announced global carbon-neutral targets. Industrial production processes like automobile manufacturing generate significant carbon emissions, and relying solely on internal energy-saving and emission reduction is insufficient to fully achieve these goals. Investing in products like "Envision Energy ABS" allows direct acquisition of traceable green electricity and environmental rights, becoming a key part of their "combined strategy" to achieve carbon neutrality in operations and supply chains.

 

As a core enterprise in the vast automotive industry chain, Toyota Tsusho's investment behavior has a demonstration effect. This ABS product is designed to "match customer decarbonization needs through share-based processing," which may mean that the green rights corresponding to its investment shares can be flexibly allocated to partners in the supply chain, driving the entire chain's green transformation.

 

This is a highly forward-looking innovative model that uses financial tools to drive industrial ecosystem decarbonization.

 

For insurance and financial institutions like Taikang Asset and Industrial Wealth Management, "Envision Energy ABS" is a high-quality asset seeking long duration and inflation resistance.

 

As plan manager and investor, Taikang Asset represents insurance funds, whose liabilities (insurance payouts) have ultra-long durations. Industrial Wealth Management, as an asset management institution, also needs to allocate long-term assets that can withstand economic cycles for its clients.

 

This ABS, with a term of about 50 years, matches the liability characteristics of such institutions and is an ideal tool to solve their "long money, long investment" problem.

 

For energy giants like Shandong Energy Group, it meets strategic needs for energy transition and green finance, with strategic significance even greater than financial significance.

 

Under the huge pressure of global energy structure transformation, traditional energy companies must expand into clean energy fields. By investing in this ABS, Shandong Energy Group can not only share the returns of new energy assets but also enter and learn about the operation, management, and financialization of new energy assets in a low-risk, standardized way, accumulating valuable experience for its own strategic transformation.

 

In summary, the successful listing of Envision Energy ABS is like a key opening the door to wind power asset securitization. The scramble by Fortune Global 500 companies also heralds the arrival of a new era in green finance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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References:

[1] Economic Information Daily: The first clean energy holding-type real estate ABS issuance, Shanghai Stock Exchange builds a multi-level REITs market to support green finance development.

 

[2] Daily Wind Power: Wind power asset securitization, Envision issues the market's first new energy real estate ABS.

 

[3] Chatting about ABS: Hengpeng Wind Farm, securitizing assets: providing returns and green certificates!

 

[4] Asset Securitization Hundred-Person Association: Innovation | The country's first new energy holding-type ABS issuance promotes wind power asset securitization.

 

[5] Interpreting REITs: Approved within less than two months, the first new energy holding-type real estate ABS is approved.

 

[6] Caitong Securities Asset Management: Another victory in green finance innovation! The first clean energy holding-type real estate ABS listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

 

[7] Infrastructure Investment and Financing: The Market's First ABS for New Energy Holding Real Estate Launched! Term Up to 50 Years, Raising 285 Million Yuan