(BEPC) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Brookfield Renewable Partners Third Quarter 2023 Results Conference Call and Webcast. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

美好的一天，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 Brookfield Renewable Partners 2023 年第三季業績電話會議和網路廣播。 （操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。

I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Connor Teskey, Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead.

現在我想將會議交給今天的發言人、執行長康納泰斯基 (Connor Teskey)。請繼續。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for our Third Quarter 2023 conference call.

謝謝你，接線生。大家早安，感謝您參加我們的 2023 年第三季電話會議。

Before we begin, we would like to remind you that a copy of our news release, investor supplement and letter to unitholders can be found on our website. We also want to remind you that we may make forward-looking statements on this call. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, and future results may differ materially. For more information, you are encouraged to review our regulatory filings available on SEDAR, EDGAR and on our website.

在開始之前，我們想提醒您，您可以在我們的網站上找到我們的新聞稿、投資者補充資料和給單位持有人的信函的副本。我們也想提醒您，我們可能會在本次電話會議中做出前瞻性陳述。這些陳述面臨已知和未知的風險，未來的結果可能會產生重大差異。如需了解更多信息，我們鼓勵您查看 SEDAR、EDGAR 和我們網站上提供的監管文件。

On today's call, we will provide an update on the business and how we are positioned in the current market environment. Jenny Li, a Vice President in our investment teams in Toronto, will provide an update on our growth activities. And then lastly, Wyatt will conclude the call by discussing our operating results and financial position. Following our remarks, we look forward to taking your questions.

在今天的電話會議上，我們將提供有關業務的最新資訊以及我們在當前市場環境中的定位。我們多倫多投資團隊的副總裁 Jenny Li 將提供我們成長活動的最新資訊。最後，懷亞特將透過討論我們的經營業績和財務狀況來結束電話會議。在我們的發言之後，我們期待回答您的問題。

We had another successful quarter, utilizing our disciplined approach to growth and execution to outperform our targets and deliver strong operating results. Furthermore, as Jenny will highlight, we recently closed our acquisition of X-ELIO and Deriva Energy, formerly Duke Energy Renewables, as well as advanced our acquisitions of Westinghouse Electric, which we expect to close shortly, and Origin Energy. With the closing of these acquisitions, we are adding significant incremental FFO and are positioning ourselves to continue to deliver on our decade-long track record of 10%-plus FFO per unit annual growth.

我們又一個成功的季度，利用我們嚴格的成長和執行方法超越了我們的目標並實現了強勁的經營業績。此外，正如珍妮將強調的那樣，我們最近完成了對X-ELIO 和Deriva Energy（前身為杜克能源再生能源公司）的收購，並推進了對西屋電氣（我們預計很快就會完成）和Origin Energy 的收購。隨著這些收購的完成，我們將大幅增加 FFO，並準備好繼續實現我們長達十年的每單位 FFO 年增長率超過 10% 的記錄。

That said, we want to also touch briefly on the market environment and our share price. The renewable sector traded down in the public markets on the back of higher interest rates and a perceived tightening of industry margins. And even though we are well positioned to benefit in this environment and insulated from the challenges that are seemingly impacting others in the sector, we have not been immune to the lower trading environment. It is important to note that, while we are never pleased when our share price is down, we are long-term focused investors, and between our strong position in the market, major global themes and the overarching sector tailwinds, the outlook for our business has never been better.

也就是說，我們還想簡單談談市場環境和我們的股價。由於利率上升和行業利潤率明顯收緊，再生能源產業在公開市場上的交易價格下跌。儘管我們處於有利地位，可以在這種環境中受益，並且免受似乎影響該行業其他公司的挑戰的影響，但我們也未能倖免於較低的貿易環境。值得注意的是，雖然我們對股價下跌從不感到高興，但我們是長期關注的投資者，我們在市場中的強勢地位、全球主要主題和總體行業順風車之間，我們的業務前景從來沒有這麼好過。

As we continue to deliver on our growth targets and execute on our strategic priorities, our share price should respond and better reflect the intrinsic value of the business.

隨著我們繼續實現成長目標並執行我們的策略重點，我們的股價應該做出反應並更好地反映業務的內在價值。

Most importantly, we are not seeing any reduction in the returns we are able to generate. In fact, quite the opposite. We are seeing an abundance of opportunities to invest at or above our target returns. The combination of accelerating demand for clean power from corporations and fewer players with access to capital is creating a favorable environment for those such as ourselves with capital capabilities and a pipeline of projects to deliver for our customers.

最重要的是，我們沒有看到我們能夠產生的回報有任何減少。事實上，恰恰相反。我們看到大量投資機會達到或高於我們的目標回報。企業對清潔能源的需求不斷增加，而能夠獲得資本的參與者越來越少，這兩者相結合，正在為我們這樣擁有資本能力和為客戶提供一系列項目的人創造有利的環境。

Notably, we are seeing particularly attractive opportunities to acquire businesses with strong development pipelines but lack the access to capital or scale operating capabilities to build out these projects. This is creating a powerful and virtuous cycle. We are capturing increased -- we are capturing increasing demand through our existing capabilities and pipeline, while at the same time, using our access to capital to add leading platforms in core markets around the world, further enhancing our capabilities and positioning us to capture even further demand in the future as we position ourselves as the clean energy and decarbonization partner of choice for leading corporations.

值得注意的是，我們看到了特別有吸引力的機會來收購擁有強大開發管道但缺乏資金或規模營運能力來建立這些專案的企業。這正在創造一個強大的良性循環。我們正在透過我們現有的能力和管道來抓住不斷增長的需求，同時利用我們獲得的資本在全球核心市場增加領先的平台，進一步增強我們的能力，並使我們能夠抓住甚至由於我們將自己定位為領先企業首選的清潔能源和脫碳合作夥伴，因此未來將有進一步的需求。

Over the past 5 years, the amount of clean energy procured annually by corporations has increased by almost 10x. And looking forward, we do not expect this trend to slow down. Access to energy is now a key constraint for a number of these buyers, including leading technology companies, to execute on their growth plans in some of their highest margin segments. This strong and growing demand from these customers, combined with our ability to provide 24/7 clean power solutions from our technologically diversified fleet, and our credibility to deliver scale projects globally and on time is translating into signing contracts at prices that appropriately compensate us for higher construction and financing costs.

過去5年，企業每年採購的清潔能源數量增加了近10倍。展望未來，我們預期這一趨勢不會放緩。對於包括領先科技公司在內的許多買家來說，獲得能源現在是在一些利潤率最高的領域執行成長計畫的關鍵限制因素。這些客戶的強勁且不斷增長的需求，加上我們透過技術多元化的車隊提供24/7 清潔電力解決方案的能力，以及我們在全球範圍內按時交付規模項目的信譽，正在轉化為以適當補償我們的價格簽訂合約更高的建設和融資成本。

As an example, by leveraging our development pipeline, our existing hydro facilities and our power marketing capabilities, we recently signed an agreement with one of the leading global technology companies to provide them with a total of 18 terawatt hours over the next 5 years to serve their growing requirements in the U.S. We continue to establish ourselves as a key enabler for the large tech companies, providing them the critical power to support their data centers and growing cloud and artificial intelligence activities.

例如，透過利用我們的開發管道、現有水力設施和電力行銷能力，我們最近與一家全球領先的科技公司簽署了一項協議，在未來5年內向他們提供總計18太瓦時的電力，以服務他們在美國不斷增長的需求。我們繼續將自己打造為大型科技公司的關鍵推動者，為他們提供關鍵動力來支援其資料中心以及不斷增長的雲端和人工智慧活動。

We also want to touch on our approach to development. We continue to be focused on opportunities that we can derisk quickly and deliver appropriately risk-adjusted returns. So while we are doing more development, we are not compromising on the principles that have served us well to this point and are taking our extensive knowledge built over the past decades to enhance our capabilities globally. We do not build on spec and reduce risks in our investments by not taking basis risks, meaning we simultaneously secure power purchase agreements, customer contracts and financing before ever committing significant capital. We limit construction risk by using a localized approach to construction and development, and manage our CapEx spend by leveraging our central procurement capabilities.

我們也想談談我們的發展方法。我們繼續關注能夠​​快速降低風險並提供適當的風險調整回報的機會。因此，在我們進行更多開發的同時，我們不會妥協迄今為止一直為我們服務的原則，並利用過去幾十年積累的廣泛知識來增強我們的全球能力。我們不以規格為基礎，透過不承擔基礎風險來降低投資風險，這意味著我們在投入大量資本之前同時獲得購電協議、客戶合約和融資。我們透過使用在地化的建設和開發方法來限制建設風險，並透過利用我們的中央採購能力來管理我們的資本支出。

We also look to leverage our commercial teams to source the highest quality offtakes and focus on the most mature and lowest cost renewable power technologies in the highest growth regions, to always ensure that our projects will produce the most derisked high-quality cash flows. As an example, while there have been recent announcements impacting the outlook for offshore wind in the U.S., largely on the back of its competitive position, cost increases and reliance on subsidies, the development of onshore wind continues to be robust given the attributes of these projects.

我們還希望利用我們的商業團隊來採購最高品質的電力，並專注於成長最快地區最成熟和成本最低的再生能源技術，以始終確保我們的專案將產生風險最小的高品質現金流。例如，雖然最近有一些公告影響了美國離岸風電的前景，主要是由於其競爭地位、成本增加和對補貼的依賴，但鑑於這些特徵，陸上風電的發展仍然強勁。項目。

There are over 100 gigawatts of onshore capacity expected to come online in the United States by the end of the decade, including almost 9 gigawatts of onshore wind from our development pipeline. We are using this playbook to develop our large global pipeline, which now stands at nearly 150 gigawatts. We expect to deliver 5 gigawatts of new capacity this year and another approximately 15 gigawatts over the next 2 years, contributing approximately $270 million of additional FFO annually.

預計到本世紀末，美國將有超過 100 吉瓦的陸上裝置容量上線，其中包括我們開發管道中的近 9 吉瓦的陸上風電。我們正在使用這個劇本來開發我們的大型全球管道，目前已接近 150 吉瓦。我們預計今年將提供 5 吉瓦的新容量，並在未來 2 年內再提供約 15 吉瓦的新容量，每年貢獻約 2.7 億美元的額外 FFO。

Much of the capital for these projects has already been invested. And like the rest of our business, these projects are expected to deliver attractive economics given our derisked approach to execution.

這些項目的大部分資金已經投入。與我們的其他業務一樣，鑑於我們的低風險執行方式，這些專案預計將帶來有吸引力的經濟效益。

With that, we will turn the call over to Jenny to speak about our growth activities.

這樣，我們將把電話轉給珍妮，談論我們的成長活動。

Thank you, Connor, and good morning, everyone. This past quarter, we agreed to invest approximately $2.2 billion of equity capital, highlighted by our agreement to acquire Banks Renewables, a leading independent U.K.-based renewable energy development business with approximately 260 megawatts of onshore wind assets. The business also has approximately 800 megawatts of near-term development projects and a further 3,000 megawatt pipeline of earlier-stage projects.

謝謝你，康納，大家早安。上個季度，我們同意投資約 22 億美元的股本，其中最突出的是我們同意收購 Banks Renewables，這是一家領先的英國獨立再生能源開發企業，擁有約 260 兆瓦的陸上風電資產。該公司還擁有約 800 兆瓦的近期開發項目和另外 3,000 兆瓦的早期項目。

Banks is a full-service end-to-end platform with strong capabilities across the entire project life cycle, including origination, development, commercial contracting, financing, and operations. The team has been successful developing high-quality projects in the U.K., but have generally been limited by access to capital. Under our ownership, we believe we can accelerate organic growth in capital recycling and expand the business via M&A in the fragmented U.K. market. The transaction is expected to close before year-end.

Banks 是一個全方位服務的端到端平台，在整個專案生命週期（包括發起、開發、商業承包、融資和營運）中擁有強大的能力。該團隊在英國成功開發了高品質的項目，但普遍受到資本獲取的限制。在我們的所有權下，我們相信我們可以加速資本回收的有機成長，並透過併購在分散的英國市場擴大業務。該交易預計將在年底前完成。

We also agreed to partner with Axis Energy, a leading renewable developer in India, to create a new large-scale development platform through which we expect to develop approximately 250 megawatts -- 2,500 megawatts of wind and solar capacity over the next 3 years. Axis is a well-known partner to us through our previous joint venture partnership in which we have already successfully developed almost 2,000 megawatts of capacity over the past 2 years.

我們也同意與印度領先的再生能源開發商 Axis Energy 合作，創建一個新的大型開發平台，預計在未來 3 年內開發約 250 兆瓦——2,500 兆瓦的風能和太陽能發電能力。透過我們先前的合資夥伴關係，安訊士是我們的知名合作夥伴，過去 2 年我們已成功開發了近 2,000 兆瓦的產能。

This quarter, we made good progress closing our previously announced highly accretive M&A transactions. First, we closed the acquisition of the remaining 50% interest in X-ELIO, a leading global solar developer, bringing our total ownership interest to 100%.

本季度，我們在完成之前宣布的高度增值的併購交易方面取得了良好進展。首先，我們完成了對全球領先太陽能開發商 X-ELIO 剩餘 50% 股權的收購，使我們的總所有權權益達到 100%。

We also closed the acquisition of Deriva Energy, formerly Duke Energy Renewables, one of the largest renewable platform in the U.S. with almost 6,000 megawatts of operating and other construction assets, diversified across wind, utility scale solar and storage, with a sizable development pipeline, of approximately 6,000 megawatts. With this acquisition, we are adding a scale operating renewable platform, generating strong contracted cash flows, with a 13-year weighted average remaining contract life. The acquisition is immediately accretive, generating FFO yields in the mid-teens, with opportunities to add value by leveraging commercial and operational synergies and executing on the significant optionality to repower the operating wind portfolio over time, using our recent experience with powering the Shepherds Flat Wind Farm.

我們也完成了對Deriva Energy（原杜克能源再生能源公司）的收購，該公司是美國最大的再生能源平台之一，擁有近6,000 兆瓦的營運和其他建築資產，業務多元化，涵蓋風能、公用事業規模的太陽能和儲存領域，並擁有規模龐大的開發管道，約6,000兆瓦。透過此次收購，我們將增加一個規模化營運的再生能源平台，產生強勁的合約現金流，加權平均剩餘合約壽命為 13 年。此次收購立即產生增值作用，產生了十幾歲左右的FFO 收益率，並有機會透過利用商業和營運協同效應以及利用我們最近為Shepherds Flat 供電的經驗，隨著時間的推移執行重要的選項來重新為正在運轉的風電組合供電來增加價值風電場。

On our acquisition of Westinghouse Electric, we recently received all required regulatory approvals and expect to close the transaction early next week. With this acquisition, we are adding a leading provider of mission-critical technology services and products to the nuclear industry from a business that generates infrastructure-like cash flows, servicing approximately half the global nuclear fleet. Approximately 85% of Westinghouse's revenues come from long-term contracted or highly recurring customer service provision with nearly 100% customer retention rate.

在收購西屋電氣時，我們最近獲得了所有必要的監管批准，並預計下週初完成交易。透過此次收購，我們為核工業增加了一家領先的關鍵任務技術服務和產品供應商，該供應商產生類似基礎設施的現金流，為全球約一半的核電艦隊提供服務。西屋電氣約 85% 的收入來自長期合約或高度經常性的客戶服務提供，客戶保留率接近 100%。

Nuclear power is a reliable zero-carbon technology that supports the growth of renewables by providing critical baseload power to our grid and is essential to a net zero economy in our view. Since our announced acquisition, we have seen a resurgence in the growth of outlook for nuclear with several new builds being announced, a number of which where new contracts awarded to Westinghouse, providing opportunities for growth for Westinghouse's engineering and design business as well as its [core, fuel] and services business, none of which was underwritten in our acquisition.

核電是一種可靠的零碳技術，透過為電網提供關鍵的基本負載電力來支持再生能源的成長，我們認為核電對於淨零經濟至關重要。自從我們宣布收購以來，我們看到了核電前景的複蘇，宣布了幾座新建築，其中一些新合約授予了西屋電氣，為西屋電氣的工程和設計業務及其[核心、燃料]和服務業務，這些業務都沒有在我們的收購中得到承銷。

Westinghouse is also capturing growth in its core business, winning contracts to service almost all of the operating nuclear plants in Eastern Europe, which have historically been served by Russian providers. With the close of this acquisition, we are adding a business which yields double-digit FFO based on highly visible and reliable cash flows.

西屋電氣也在其核心業務中實現增長，贏得了為東歐幾乎所有正在運行的核電站提供服務的合同，這些核電站歷來都是由俄羅斯供應商提供服務的。隨著此次收購的完成，我們將增加一項基於高度可見且可靠的現金流量產生兩位數 FFO 的業務。

The business also provides significant upside to our underwriting returns, some of which have already materialized. Over time, we expect to leverage our commercial contracting capabilities to allow Westinghouse to further grow as our large customers are seeking sources of clean, dispatchable and baseload power.

該業務也為我們的承保回報提供了顯著的上升空間，其中一些回報已經實現。隨著時間的推移，我們希望利用我們的商業承包能力，讓西屋電氣進一步發展，因為我們的大客戶正在尋求清潔、可調度和基本負載的電力來源。

This quarter, we also moved forward with our acquisition of Origin Energy, receiving authorizations from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in October, and received a unanimous recommendation from Origin's Board having increased our offer to the top end of their independent experts valuation range providing a compelling opportunity for Origin shareholders to realize the value of their investment. With the shareholder vote scheduled for late November, we expect to close the acquisition in early 2024, adding a large-scale strategic platform in Australia.

本季度，我們也推進了對Origin Energy 的收購，並於10 月獲得了澳洲競爭和消費者委員會的授權，並獲得了Origin 董事會的一致建議，將我們的報價提高到了其獨立專家估值範圍的高端，從而提供了為 Origin 股東提供實現投資價值的絕佳機會。由於股東投票定於 11 月底舉行，我們預計將於 2024 年初完成收購，在澳洲增加一個大型策略平台。

Origin is Australia's largest integrated power generation and energy retailer with an industry-leading cost model, driving strong margins and cash flow visibility to fund the large-scale renewables build out. With this acquisition, we have the opportunity to accelerate the development of renewable generation capacity to serve the existing retail energy customer base and to help decarbonize the Australian grid at this crucial time in its energy transition.

Origin 是澳洲最大的綜合發電和能源零售商，擁有領先業界的成本模型，推動強勁的利潤率和現金流可視性，為大規模再生能源建設提供資金。透過此次收購，我們有機會加速再生能源發電能力的發展，為現有的零售能源客戶群提供服務，並在能源轉型的關鍵時刻幫助澳洲電網實現脫碳。

In total, over the coming months, we expect to have closed transactions totaling over $9 billion or around $1.5 billion net to Brookfield Renewable, deploying equity capital into immediately accretive transactions, adding approximately $200 million in incremental annual FFO.

總的來說，在接下來的幾個月裡，我們預計將與Brookfield Renewable 完成總額超過90 億美元的交易，即淨額約15 億美元，將股本資本部署到立即增值的交易中，每年增量FFO 增加約2 億美元。

I will now turn it over to Wyatt to discuss our operating results and financial position.

我現在將其交給懷亞特討論我們的經營業績和財務狀況。

Thank you, Jenny. As Connor spoke to in his earlier remarks, we continue to build on our strong first half of the year. Operating results reflect our highly diversified platform, inflation index cash flows and strong all-in pricing.

謝謝你，珍妮。正如康納在早些時候的演講中所說，我們將繼續在今年上半年的強勁業績基礎上再接再厲。經營績效反映了我們高度多元化的平台、通膨指數現金流和強勁的綜合定價。

We generated FFO of $253 million or $1.29 per unit year-to-date, equating to a 7% increase compared to last year, and continue to be positioned to deliver our 10% plus FFO per unit growth target for the year.

年初至今，我們的 FFO 達到 2.53 億美元，即每單位 1.29 美元，相當於去年增長 7%，並繼續實現今年每單位 FFO 增長 10% 以上的目標。

Our business is backed by high-quality cash flows, in large part from our perpetual hydro portfolio, which is becoming increasingly valuable in today's environment where customers are looking for 24/7 clean power solutions. The dispatchable baseload power that our hydros generate provide a unique advantage for us in partnering with buyers of clean power. We are also set to benefit from recontracting these assets over the next several years, which will not only contribute additional FFO in the strong current pricing environment, but also act as a highly accretive funding source for growth as we up-finance many of the assets due to their low levels of debt.

我們的業務得到高品質現金流的支持，其中很大一部分來自我們的永久水力發電產品組合，在當今客戶尋求 24/7 清潔電力解決方案的環境中，該產品組合變得越來越有價值。我們的水力發電產生的可調度基本負載電力為我們與清潔電力買家合作提供了獨特的優勢。我們還將在未來幾年內從這些資產的再承包中受益，這不僅將在當前強勁的定價環境中貢獻額外的 FFO，而且隨著我們為許多資產提供融資，也將成為成長的高度增值資金來源由於他們的債務水平較低。

Our financial position remains strong. We expect to execute just short of $20 billion of nonrecourse financing this year, generating over $800 million in up financing proceeds, while maintaining our strong investment-grade credit rating. We ended the quarter with $4.4 billion of available liquidity, providing significant flexibility to continue executing on our growth and development strategy.

我們的財務狀況依然強勁。我們預計今年將執行近 200 億美元的無追索權融資，產生超過 8 億美元的融資收益，同時保持我們強勁的投資等級信用評級。本季結束時，我們擁有 44 億美元的可用流動資金，為繼續執行我們的成長和發展策略提供了巨大的靈活性。

We have also been crystallizing and proving out our returns through asset recycling. In the past 18 months, we have generated $1.4 billion in proceeds from our asset recycling program, which, on average, represents almost 3x our invested capital. Despite it being a scarcer environment for capital, we continue to see strong demand for appropriately sized derisked assets with long-term contracts and fixed rate financing in place. As an example, we recently agreed to the sale of a 150-megawatt solar facility in Europe that we commissioned earlier this year for proceeds of $100 million, representing almost 3x our invested capital.

我們也一直在透過資產循環來結晶和證明我們的回報。在過去 18 個月中，我們從資產回收計畫中獲得了 14 億美元的收益，平均而言，幾乎是我們投資資本的 3 倍。儘管資本環境較為稀缺，但我們仍然看到對具有長期合約和固定利率融資的適當規模的去風險資產的強勁需求。例如，我們最近同意出售歐洲一座 150 兆瓦的太陽能設施，該設施是我們今年稍早投入使用的，收益為 1 億美元，幾乎是我們投資資本的 3 倍。

In light of public market conditions and our strong conviction in the intrinsic value of our business and growth trajectory, we have also started to allocate capital to repurchase shares. Starting this quarter, we repurchased almost 1.5 million units under our normal course issuer bid. Looking forward, we will continue to allocate capital based on where we are seeing the best risk-adjusted returns, and remain confident that we will continue to create meaningful value for our investors.

鑑於公開市場狀況以及我們對業務內在價值和成長軌蹟的堅定信念，我們也開始分配資本回購股票。從本季開始，我們以正常發行人的出價回購了近 150 萬股。展望未來，我們將繼續根據我們所看到的最佳風險調整回報來分配資本，並堅信我們將繼續為投資者創造有意義的價值。

In closing, we remain focused on delivering 12% to 15% long-term total returns for our investors while remaining disciplined allocators of capital, leveraging our deep funding sources and operational capabilities to enhance and derisk our business.

最後，我們仍然致力於為投資者提供 12% 至 15% 的長期總回報，同時保持嚴格的資本配置者，利用我們深厚的資金來源和營運能力來增強我們的業務並降低風險。

On behalf of the Board and management, we thank all our unitholders and shareholders for the ongoing support. We are excited about Brookfield Renewables future and look forward to updating you on our progress throughout the remainder of the year.

我們代表董事會和管理層感謝所有單位持有人和股東的持續支持。我們對布魯克菲爾德再生能源公司的未來感到興奮，並期待在今年剩餘時間內向您通報我們的最新進展。

That concludes our formal remarks for today's call. Thank you for joining us this morning. And with that, I'll pass it back to our operator for questions.

我們今天電話會議的正式演講到此結束。感謝您今天早上加入我們。然後，我會將其傳回給我們的接線員以供提問。

(Operator Instructions) And our first question will come from Sean Steuart from TD Securities.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題將來自道明證券的 Sean Steuart。

A couple of questions. Connor, you touched on, I guess, a broadening growth opportunity set given valuation contraction across the sector. And we've seen an accelerating meltdown in public valuations, especially for offshore wind. You guys have taken a measured approach to that asset class. Do you have any updated thoughts on prospective growth initiatives in offshore wind as you potentially take advantage of valuation disconnect there? .

有幾個問題。康納，我想，鑑於整個行業的估值收縮，您談到了不斷擴大的成長機會。我們看到公眾估值加速崩潰，尤其是離岸風電。你們對這一資產類別採取了審慎的方法。由於您可能利用離岸風電的估值脫節，您對離岸風電的預期增長計劃有什麼最新的想法嗎？ 。

Good morning, Sean. Thanks for the question. I think it's important that we be clear here. We quite like offshore. We think it's a mature technology. It's a large-scale technology. It provides a differentiated load pattern that is very important to energy grids in certain markets around the world. And therefore, we would willingly invest in offshore if we saw the right risk-adjusted returns.

早安，肖恩。謝謝你的提問。我認為我們必須在這裡澄清這一點很重要。我們非常喜歡離岸。我們認為這是一項成熟的技術。這是一項大規模的技術。它提供了差異化的負載模式，這對於全球某些市場的能源電網非常重要。因此，如果我們看到正確的風險調整回報，我們會願意投資離岸。

Our lack of exposure to offshore traditionally is not a result of the technology, but rather the investment profile that offshore opportunities has traditionally provided, where you had to invest significant amounts of capital, hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars upfront for the right to buy -- or sorry, the right to build out a project in 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 years, when you didn't know the environment you would be building it. You didn't know CapEx costs or financing costs or things like that. And that is precisely the basis risk that we try to be very, very disciplined about and remove in the investment opportunities we pursue and the execution of our development pipeline.

傳統上，我們缺乏離岸投資並不是技術的結果，而是離岸機會傳統上提供的投資狀況，你必須預先投入大量資本，數億甚至數十億美元才能獲得成功。購買權——或者抱歉，在3 或4 或5 或6 年內建造一個專案的權利，當時你不知道你將要建造它的環境。您不知道資本支出成本或融資成本或類似的事情。這正是我們在追求投資機會和執行開發管道時努力非常非常嚴格地消除和消除的基本風險。

So it was nothing to do with offshore technology itself. We simply didn't like the investment profile because it didn't fit with our approach of trying to remove basis risk.

所以這與離岸技術本身無關。我們只是不喜歡這種投資狀況，因為它不符合我們試圖消除基差風險的方法。

As we look at the opportunity today, we do think there are a number of opportunities where that basis risk is increasingly shrinking. If a project needed to win approvals 3 or 4 years ago when it is going to get built out next year or the year after, that basis risk has shrunk materially. And now with some of the headwinds in the sector, there might be some eager sellers as well.

當我們審視今天的機會時，我們確實認為存在許多基差風險日益縮小的機會。如果一個專案需要在三、四年前獲得批准，然後在明年或後年建成，那麼基本風險就會大幅下降。現在，由於該行業面臨一些阻力，可能也會有一些急切的賣家。

So I would say we feel comfortable with our disciplined approach to entering the sector, and we do think it looks a lot more attractive to us today than it has in the past.

因此，我想說，我們對進入該行業的嚴格方法感到滿意，我們確實認為它今天對我們來說比過去更具吸引力。

And just following on that, as you think about M&A prospects, even since the Investor Day in September, valuations have changed quite a bit, can you speak to discrepancies between public and private opportunities across the M&A opportunities you're looking at right now? .

接下來，當您考慮併購前景時，即使自9 月的投資者日以來，估值也發生了很大變化，您能否談談您現在正在關注的併購機會中公共和私人機會之間的差異？ 。

Certainly. I'd probably put it in 2 buckets. One is there's a continuing trend that I would say has been attractive for a couple of years and remains attractive today. And that is there are a number of high-quality, I will say, private medium-sized developers in core markets that have fantastic pipelines and asset bases, but simply don't have the scale, the access to capital or the operating capabilities to build out those projects and really to capture the value in those pipelines that they have assembled. And we've been executing a number of those acquisitions, and I think that will continue in private markets going forward.

當然。我可能會把它放在兩個桶子裡。其中之一是有一種持續的趨勢，我認為這種趨勢在過去幾年中一直很有吸引力，並且在今天仍然具有吸引力。我想說的是，核心市場中有許多高品質的私人中型開發商，他們擁有出色的管道和資產基礎，但根本不具備規模、獲得資本的機會或營運能力。建立這些項目，並真正捕捉他們所組裝的管道中的價值。我們已經執行了許多這樣的收購，我認為這種收購將在私募市場上繼續下去。

And then in public markets, make no mistake about it. We're constantly tracking the public markets. And for a couple of years there, it was very difficult to execute in the public markets at our target returns. But given the adjustments in market valuations, there are a number of names that I would say are increasingly entering the strike zone in terms of attractive value. And therefore, we do think we could be more active on the public side going forward than we have been over the last couple of years.

然後在公開市場上，請不要誤會。我們不斷追蹤公開市場。在那裡的幾年裡，在公開市場上執行我們的目標回報非常困難。但考慮到市場估值的調整，我認為有一些公司正在越來越多地進入價值有吸引力的區域。因此，我們確實認為，與過去幾年相比，我們未來可以在公共方面更加積極。

Our next question will come from Robert Hope from Scotiabank. .

我們的下一個問題將來自豐業銀行的羅伯特·霍普。 。

In the letter and on the call so far, you've spoken very favorably about kind of prospectives in the prospective investment environment, whether that's kind of private or public opportunities. You have a number of acquisitions closing here in the coming months as well. While your liquidity is strong, how do you think about the access to capital moving forward? Is the opportunity set in front of you in excess of your available capital? Or could you see yourselves maybe accelerate some asset sales to further bolster your liquidity profile? .

迄今為止，在信函和電話會議中，您對未來投資環境中的前景非常有利，無論是私人機會還是公共機會。未來幾個月，您還將完成多筆收購。雖然您的流動性很強，但您如何看待未來的資本獲取？您面前的機會是否超出了您的可用資本？或者您會加速一些資產出售，以進一步增強您的流動性狀況？ 。

Certainly. So I think there's probably two things to highlight. As Wyatt mentioned, in some of our disclosures, we've had a very active year for financings and, in particular, up-financing. And we've done all of that while maintaining our investment-grade credit metrics and our investment-grade approach to asset-level nonrecourse fixed-rate financing. And that's really provided us a very meaningful component of the capital needed to fund the growth we've announced in a very accretive manner.

當然。所以我認為可能有兩件事需要強調。正如懷亞特所提到的，在我們的一些披露中，我們的融資，特別是追加融資，經歷了非常活躍的一年。我們在完成所有這些工作的同時，維持了投資等級信用指標和資產等級無追索權固定利率融資的投資等級方法。這確實為我們提供了非常有意義的資本組成部分，為我們以非常增值的方式宣布的成長提供資金。

The other thing I would highlight is, when you close such large transactions such as Westinghouse, and potentially Origin, those businesses have tremendous access to capital themselves. And they come with large undrawn revolvers that can be used to fund their ongoing growth. And therefore, as our platform grows, so does our access to liquidity and capital going forward.

我要強調的另一件事是，當你完成像西屋電氣（Westinghouse）和潛在的 Origin 這樣的大型交易時，這些企業本身就有大量獲得資本的機會。他們還配備了未拔出的大型左輪手槍，可以用來為他們的持續成長提供資金。因此，隨著我們平台的發展，我們未來獲得流動性和資本的機會也在增加。

So obviously, we're closing a number of transactions this quarter. We're at about $4.5 billion of liquidity today. If we closed all the transactions in our pipeline, we'd still be at least $3.5 billion of liquidity rough numbers, and that gives us plenty of dry powder to pursue any large and attractive opportunities that come our way. Given the environment, this is something we keep very top of mind. We want to make sure that we're always well positioned to pursue growth in environments such as this where we see very attractive returns.

顯然，我們本季將完成一些交易。目前我們的流動性約為 45 億美元。如果我們結束了管道中的所有交易，我們的流動性粗略數字仍將至少為 35 億美元，這為我們提供了充足的乾粉來追求任何大型且有吸引力的機會。考慮到環境，這是我們最關心的事情。我們希望確保我們始終能夠在這樣的環境中追求成長，在這種環境中我們看到了非常有吸引力的回報。

Appreciate that. And then just maybe moving to the unit and share buybacks. Can you maybe walk us through how you're thinking about intrinsic value there? And more specifically, in terms of access to capital, are you seeing -- or how do you think about the risk-adjusted returns of buying back your own share versus what appear to be very attractive returns in other areas of your business? .

感謝。然後可能會轉向該部門並進行股票回購。您能否向我們介紹一下您是如何看待內在價值的？更具體地說，在獲得資本方面，您是否看到——或者您如何看待回購自己股票的風險調整回報與您業務其他領域看似非常有吸引力的回報？ 。

Certainly. So we think about it the same way, I would say. We always want to be disciplined in the use of our liquidity and the use of our investment capital. And with what we would view as kind of the irrational decline in our share prices over the last couple of months, for the first time in a long time, we saw it as a clear opportunity to buy back some of our shares for value. And to be clear, when we're buying back those shares, we're working within the daily volume restrictions of our NCIB, and we've been doing that for a number of weeks now and probably will likely continue to do it for a number of weeks going forward.

當然。所以我想說，我們以同樣的方式思考這個問題。我們始終希望在使用流動性和投資資本時遵守紀律。鑑於過去幾個月我們的股價出現非理性下跌，這是很長一段時間以來的第一次，我們認為這是一個以價值回購部分股票的明顯機會。需要明確的是，當我們回購這些股票時，我們是在 NCIB 的每日交易量限制範圍內進行的，而且我們已經這樣做了好幾個星期，並且很可能會繼續這樣做一段時間。未來幾週。

But in terms of how we think about capital allocation between the two, we view our capital as fungible. And we equally weight the returns that we can make in buying back our own shares versus the returns we can make in investing in growth. For years, that balance has been heavily tilted to growth. But with the recent decline in the sectors, we expect to be doing both going forward.

但就我們如何看待兩者之間的資本配置而言，我們認為我們的資本是可以互換的。我們同樣權衡回購自己股票所能獲得的報酬與投資成長所能獲得的報酬。多年來，這種平衡一直嚴重傾向成長。但隨著最近這些產業的下滑，我們預期未來兩者都會同時進行。

Our next question will come from David Quezada from Raymond James.

我們的下一個問題將來自雷蒙德詹姆斯的大衛奎扎達。

Maybe just starting out with Westinghouse. It sounds like that is shaping up pretty well for closing pretty soon. Just wondering if you could just remind us maybe longer term how you see nuclear fitting into your future plans. I know that Westinghouse has that microreactor technology. I'm just curious, will your ambitions extend beyond Westinghouse or will that be your vehicle for kind of targeting the nuclear market?

也許只是從西屋電氣開始。聽起來這一切進展順利，很快就會關閉。只是想知道您是否可以提醒我們，從長遠來看，您如何看待核能融入您未來的計劃。我知道西屋公司擁有微反應器技術。我只是好奇，您的野心是否會超越西屋電氣，或者這會成為您瞄準核子市場的工具？

Certainly. So maybe just a fun point of color for everyone. We actually got our last regulatory approval on Westinghouse, I would say, within an hour before this call. So we are all good to go and we do expect to close this transaction next week.

當然。所以也許這對每個人來說都是一個有趣的色彩點。我想說，我們實際上在這次電話會議前一小時內就獲得了西屋電氣的最後一次監管批准。所以我們一切準備就緒，我們預計下週將完成這筆交易。

In terms of why we're so excited about Westinghouse, I would say two things off the top and then I'll get into some of the details. When we look at the growth drivers of wind and solar, they are very clearly decarbonization, electrification and energy security. And when you look at what the drivers of nuclear power are, it's the same thing: decarbonization, electrification and energy security.

說到為什麼我們對西屋電氣如此興奮，我想說兩件事，然後我會詳細介紹一些細節。當我們審視風能和太陽能的成長動力時，很明顯地它們是脫碳、電氣化和能源安全。當你看看核電的驅動因素是什麼時，你會發現這是同一件事：脫碳、電氣化和能源安全。

And then the second thing I would say is we've been tracking nuclear for a long number of years now, and I think we've always had a very favorable view of it. Because of the front row seat we add to the value of clean, dispatchable baseload power that we see through our own existing hydro portfolio. The value of that clean, dispatchable energy -- clean, dispatchable baseload energy is not growing incrementally, it's inflecting higher.

我要說的第二件事是，我們多年來一直在追蹤核能，我認為我們一直對它抱持著非常有利的看法。由於前排座椅的存在，我們增加了清潔、可調度的基本負載電力的價值，這是我們透過自己現有的水力產品組合看到的。清潔、可調度的能源——清潔、可調度的基荷能源的價值並沒有逐漸增長，而是不斷上升。

And today, there's really two places where you can get that type of energy supply, and that's hydro and nuclear. And going forward, we will have meaningful leading positions in both.

如今，確實有兩個地方可以獲得此類能源供應，那就是水力和核能。展望未來，我們將在這兩方面都擁有有意義的領先地位。

When it comes to Westinghouse, Westinghouse obviously offers a full suite of nuclear power generation products. It's probably most well known for its market-leading AP1000 reactor, which is what is typically used in large markets to support countries and major utilities get off large, I would say, coal or thermal supply stack. But what's important to recognize about Westinghouse is they also have an AP300 technology, which is a small module reactor technology. And the important thing about the AP300 is it's the same design, it's the same technology, it's the same model as the AP1000 simply shrunk down.

說到西屋，西屋顯然提供了全套核電產品。它最著名的可能是其市場領先的 AP1000 反應堆，這種反應堆通常在大型市場中使用，以支持國家和主要公用事業公司擺脫大型煤炭或熱力供應堆棧。但值得注意的是，西屋電氣還擁有 AP300 技術，這是一種小型模組反應器技術。 AP300 的重要之處在於它與 AP1000 具有相同的設計、相同的技術、相同的型號，只是縮小了。

And as a result, we don't expect the AP300 to have many of the first-of-its kind issues that other SMR technologies will have.

因此，我們預計 AP300 不會像其他 SMR 技術那樣出現許多同類問題。

And then lastly, Westinghouse has its microreactor technology, eVinci. And this is very good for projects and businesses that are in remote locations and need to get off high carbon, high-cost energy like diesel fuel oil.

最後，西屋電氣擁有其微反應器技術 eVinci。這對於位於偏遠地區、需要擺脫柴油等高碳、高成本能源的專案和企業來說非常有利。

What I would say, what we get really excited about Westinghouse, is today it typically supports large utilities and power grids of governments. But with the huge increase in corporate demand that we are seeing around the world and with leading corporates now looking to procure the same amount of energy as leading countries, we do believe that we will be able to use Westinghouse's products to service the large energy demand of our leading corporate customers. And the clean, dispatchable baseload profile that they can provide matches very well with the build-out in renewables that we're already using to service that customer demand.

我想說的是，我們對西屋電氣真正感到興奮的是，如今它通常為大型公用事業和政府電網提供支援。但隨著我們看到世界各地企業需求的大幅增長，以及領先企業現在希望採購與領先國家相同數量的能源，我們確實相信我們將能夠使用西屋電氣的產品來滿足巨大的能源需求我們的領先企業客戶。他們可以提供的清潔、可調度的基本負載配置文件與我們已經用來滿足客戶需求的可再生能源的建設非常匹配。

So similar to how our hydro portfolio has really differentiated us in the past. We think adding nuclear to our portfolio will continue to really differentiate us in the future.

這與我們過去的水力發電產品組合真正使我們脫穎而出的方式非常相似。我們認為，在我們的產品組合中加入核能將繼續讓我們在未來真正脫穎而出。

Awesome. That's great color. And then maybe just kind of a follow-up to the commentary around M&A, and I'm thinking about hydro specifically. Just wondering if -- hydro assets seems like historically, they've traded hands at higher multiples. Are you seeing any M&A opportunities shape up in the hydro space where you could look to grow your fleet there? .

驚人的。那顏色真棒。然後也許只是圍繞併購的評論的後續行動，我正在特別考慮水電。只是想知道，從歷史上看，水力資產是否以更高的倍數進行交易。您是否看到水力發電領域出現任何併購機會，您可以在那裡擴大您的船隊？ 。

Certainly. So it's a good question. But what I would say is there's simply less hydro being built around the world. The hydro fleet around the world is a much more contained perimeter of assets. And therefore, there is going to be less deal activity. I would say we monitor it in all of our core markets. We have been buyers of hydro over the last couple of years, most notably in South America. And those investments have performed really, really well for us.

當然。所以這是一個好問題。但我想說的是，世界各地正在建造的水力發電量正在減少。世界各地的水力發電艦隊是一個更封閉的資產週邊。因此，交易活動將會減少。我想說，我們在所有核心市場都對其進行監控。過去幾年我們一直是水電的買家，尤其是在南美洲。這些投資對我們來說效果非常非常好。

But what I would say is we look at acquisitions in hydro, no different than we look at acquisitions in every other technology. If we can buy for good value, we'll obviously deploy the capital there. But if we're seeing better risk-adjusted returns elsewhere, we'll allocate that capital away.

但我想說的是，我們關注水力發電領域的收購，與我們關注其他所有技術領域的收購沒有什麼不同。如果我們能以物有所值的價格購買，我們顯然會在那裡部署資本。但如果我們在其他地方看到更好的風險調整回報，我們就會將這些資本分配出去。

And the other point I would make is we increasingly look at asset sales the same way. If someone is to offer us a value on a hydro asset that far exceeds what we think the value of that asset is in our portfolio, we would consider selling hydro as well. We look at hydro as a technology. We value it very, very significantly. But we look at it emotionlessly the similar way we look at all the other renewable asset classes.

我要說的另一點是，我們越來越以同樣的方式看待資產銷售。如果有人向我們提供的水力資產價值遠遠超過我們認為該資產在我們投資組合中的價值，我們也會考慮出售水力資產。我們將水力視為一種技術。我們非常非常重視它。但我們冷靜地看待它，就像我們看待所有其他可再生資產類別一樣。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question will come from Rupert Merer from National Bank.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題將來自國家銀行的魯珀特·梅勒（Rupert Merer）。

Connor, on asset recycling, are you still seeing strong appetite in the market to support your recycling program? And can you comment on the direction of prices you're seeing and how that might vary by market? .

康納，關於資產回收，您仍然看到市場對支持您的回收計劃有強烈的興趣嗎？您能否評論一下您所看到的價格走勢以及該走勢如何隨市場變化？ 。

Rupert, it's a really, really good question. And I would say one thing we've seen this year, which is probably appropriate color that we can share, is it's important to recognize what's happening in the market right now, which is there is still a huge influx of capital into the renewable power, energy transition, decarbonization space.

魯伯特，這是一個非常非常好的問題。我想說的是，我們今年看到的一件事，這可能是我們可以分享的適當顏色，重要的是要認識到目前市場上正在發生的事情，即仍然有大量資本湧入可再生能源領域、能源轉型、脫碳空間。

But I would say the vast majority of that capital is flowing into the segment of the market that is looking for, I would say, small to medium-sized assets that are very derisked and are operating and contracted. Larger scale platforms that require more operational intensity and more development, that's where we've seen good opportunities to buy for value. Selling well-sized assets that are derisked, that's where we're seeing good opportunities to sell for value. And we've really taken that into account in terms of our approach to asset sales.

但我想說，絕大多數資本都流入了正在尋找風險非常低、正在運作和承包的中小型資產的市場領域。規模更大的平台需要更高的營運強度和更多的開發，這就是我們看到的價值購買的好機會。出售已消除風險的規模較大的資產，這就是我們看到的價值出售的好機會。我們在資產銷售方法中確實考慮到了這一點。

And therefore, as we look at our -- the asset sales we've completed recently and the ones in our pipeline going forward, they really focus on, I would say, small to medium-sized assets that are very derisked and can attract a very low cost of capital. And we continue to see a very, very strong bid for those assets.

因此，當我們審視我們最近完成的資產出售以及未來管道中的資產出售時，我想說，他們真正關注的是中小型資產，這些資產的風險非常低，可以吸引資金成本非常低。我們繼續看到對這些資產的出價非常非常強勁。

In general, I would say, across almost all our major markets around the world. Off the top of my head, I can't really think of one now where we aren't seeing still a robust bid for those well-sized derisked contracted assets.

總的來說，我想說，幾乎遍及全球所有主要市場。在我的腦海中，我真的想不出現在我們還沒有看到對那些規模較大、去風險的合約資產的強勁出價。

So with that interest in investing in the sector from other investors in the space, how are you seeing the capital being made available through your private partnerships and your other institutional partners? Are they still writing checks to support deals alongside Brookfield? .

那麼，考慮到該領域其他投資者對該行業的投資興趣，您如何看待透過您的私人合夥企業和其他機構合作夥伴提供的資金？他們還在寫支票來支持與布魯克菲爾德合作的交易嗎？ 。

Yes, absolutely. Stronger today than ever before. And I think we're seeing that not only through our Brookfield's broader funds business, but also the willingness of large global institutional, highly sophisticated investors to, on a discretionary basis, co-invest into some of our larger transactions. And Westinghouse, which we will close next week is a great example of that.

是的，一點沒錯。今天比以往任何時候都更強大。我認為，我們不僅透過布魯克菲爾德更廣泛的基金業務看到了這一點，而且還看到大型全球機構、高度成熟的投資者願意在酌情的基礎上共同投資於我們的一些規模較大的交易。我們下週將關閉的西屋公司就是一個很好的例子。

We saw a very significant co-investor demand to come alongside of Brookfield Renewable and investing in that transaction. And we feel that's great. It, one, really validates our investment thesis. And two, it also allows us to continue to look to execute on the largest and most attractive opportunities at a scale that very few around the world can match.

我們看到了非常重要的聯合投資者需求，希望與布魯克菲爾德再生能源公司並肩投資這項交易。我們覺得很棒。第一，它確實驗證了我們的投資論點。第二，它也使我們能夠繼續尋找最大、最具吸引力的機會，其規模是世界上很少的。

So we see -- continue to see very, very robust demand for exposure to this space from large, sophisticated institutional investors.

因此，我們看到——繼續看到大型、成熟的機構投資者對這一領域的投資需求非常非常強勁。

Great. And then just finally, you may not want to comment on this, but the -- it seems the Origin Energy deal doesn't have support from all of the shareholders. Just wondering what the options are to get that deal over the line or what your next steps will be if you have some challenges there. Any thoughts on Origin. .

偉大的。最後，你可能不想對此發表評論，但 Origin Energy 交易似乎並沒有得到所有股東的支持。只是想知道有哪些選擇可以讓這筆交易順利完成，或者如果您在那裡遇到一些挑戰，您的下一步將是什麼。關於起源的任何想法。 。

Certainly. So unfortunately, this is a live transaction involving a public company, so we can't comment on it on this call.

當然。不幸的是，這是涉及上市公司的即時交易，因此我們無法在這次電話會議上對此發表評論。

Fair enough.

很公平。

We did get our ACCC approval. We, this past week, increased our bid on the back of very strong outperformance by the company between the signing of the transaction earlier this year and the points to date that we're at now. And we got a unanimous support from the Board and have increased our price to the top end or slightly above the range of value provided in a third-party fairness opinion.

我們確實獲得了 ACCC 的批准。上週，由於該公司從今年早些時候簽署交易到目前為止表現強勁，我們提高了出價。我們得到了董事會的一致支持，並將我們的價格提高到高端或略高於第三方公平意見提供的價值範圍。

At that point, this is probably all I can say. But we continue to work to execute the transaction and will do so in the coming weeks.

到那時，我能說的大概就是這些了。但我們將繼續努力執行該交易，並將在未來幾週內完成。

Thank you. And I am showing no further questions from our phone lines. I'd now like to turn the conference back over to Connor Teskey for any closing remarks.

謝謝。我的電話線路上沒有再提出任何問題。現在我想將會議轉回給康納·泰斯基（Connor Teskey）做總結發言。

Great. Thank you, operator, and thank you, everyone, for joining the call today. We appreciate your continued interest and support of Brookfield Renewable, and we look forward to updating you next quarter on our Q4 and full year results. Have a fantastic day.

偉大的。謝謝接線員，也謝謝大家今天加入通話。我們感謝您對布魯克菲爾德再生能源公司的持續關注和支持，我們期待在下個季度向您更新我們第四季和全年的業績。擁有美好的一天。

Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect. Everyone, have a wonderful day.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。祝大家有美好的一天。