Nuveen and CalSTRS Launch $2 Billion Sustainable Infrastructure Fund

As the world's largest educator-only pension fund, CalSTRS is committing capital to Nuveen’s Energy & Power Infrastructure Credit Fund II (EPIC II). The allocation serves as a core part of the fund's strategy to provide bespoke capital solutions for critical infrastructure. Don Dimitrievich, global head of Nuveen Energy Infrastructure Credit, noted that the surge in electrification and industrial onshoring has created a generational demand for new power capacity that private credit is uniquely suited to address.

Beyond traditional renewable generation, the portfolio will focus on energy storage, circular economy initiatives, and infrastructure supply chains. The move comes as U.S. power demand, driven by AI and data center expansion, is projected to increase two-to-threefold by 2035. For CalSTRS, the partnership functions as both a hedge against long-term volatility and a method to achieve risk-adjusted returns while supporting the transition to a more resilient energy economy. Investment director Nick Abel emphasized that the fund requires the technical expertise of specialists to underwrite the complex debt and equity structures necessary for these large-scale projects.