(BEPC) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to Brookfield Renewable's First Quarter 2024 Results Conference Call and Webcast. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Connor Teskey, Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead.

美好的一天，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 Brookfield Renewable 2024 年第一季業績電話會議及網路廣播。 （操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。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 first quarter 2024 conference call. 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 our future results may differ materially. For more information, you are encouraged to review our regulatory filings available on SEDAR, EDGAR and on our website.

謝謝你，接線生。大家早安，感謝您參加我們的 2024 年第一季電話會議。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，我們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 a review of our first quarter performance, our role as a key enabler in the growth of digitalization and AI, and our recently announced agreement with Microsoft. And then we will hand it over to Esper Nemi, Senior Vice President on our investment team, to discuss the growth opportunities we are seeing in the current market as well as our asset recycling initiatives. And then lastly, Wyatt will conclude the call by discussing our operating results and financial position. Following our prepared remarks, we look forward to taking your questions.

在今天的電話會議上，我們將回顧第一季的業績、我們作為數位化和人工智慧成長的關鍵推動者的角色，以及我們最近宣布的與微軟的協議。然後我們將把它交給我們投資團隊的高級副總裁 Esper Nemi，討論我們在當前市場中看到的成長機會以及我們的資產回收計劃。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。在我們準備好的發言之後，我們期待回答您的問題。

We had a strong start to the year, generating record funds from operations in the first quarter, benefiting from our development activities and acquisitions. Our operating business continues to grow and diversify, helping to improve the durability of our results and deliver on our distribution growth target.

我們今年開局強勁，第一季的營運資金創紀錄，受益於我們的開發活動和收購。我們的經營業務持續成長和多元化，有助於提高我們業績的持久性並實現我們的分銷成長目標。

As the accelerating global trends of cloud computing, digitalization and the adoption of AI continued to drive significant growth in the demand for power, we are fortunate to be a key enabler of one of the most significant growth trends in recent history. The leading global technology companies, who reported results over the past 2 weeks, all highlighted significant increases in their capital budgets to fund cloud and AI infrastructure growth.

隨著雲端運算、數位化和人工智慧的採用不斷加速的全球趨勢繼續推動電力需求的顯著增長，我們很幸運能夠成為近代歷史上最重要的成長趨勢之一的關鍵推動者。過去兩週公佈業績的全球領先科技公司都強調其資本預算大幅增加，以資助雲端和人工智慧基礎設施的成長。

The role that computer chips play in delivering the compute power behind AI is well understood by the market. But to execute on the number of computations that make AI such a powerful tool, you also need an immense amount of energy. The market is only starting to understand this need and power demand estimates to supply the growth in cloud computing, and the adoption of AI have grown significantly in recent months and quarters.

市場充分了解電腦晶片在提供人工智慧背後的運算能力方面所發揮的作用。但要執行使人工智慧成為如此強大工具的大量計算，您還需要大量的能量。市場才剛開始了解這種需求和電力需求估計，以滿足雲端運算的成長，並且人工智慧的採用在最近幾個月和幾個季度顯著增長。

However, existing energy infrastructure is simply not adequate to meet the demand from AI, meaning sourcing sustainable renewable power at scale is now on the critical path to delivering the rollout of AI globally. In this regard, we recently signed a landmark renewable energy framework agreement with Microsoft, where we expect to deliver them over 10.5 gigawatts of new renewable energy capacity in the United States and Europe between 2026 and 2030. Our strategy of building a business with leading platforms across the most important power markets globally, supported by our centralized teams, provides us with a unique development and operating capabilities, whereby we are able to leverage local relationships for permitting and interconnection and our global relationships for procurement and contracting to deliver a volume of capacity that is difficult to match.

然而，現有的能源基礎設施根本不足以滿足人工智慧的需求，這意味著大規模採購可持續的再生能源現在是全球推廣人工智慧的關鍵路徑。在這方面，我們最近與微軟簽署了一項具有里程碑意義的可再生能源框架協議，我們預計在2026 年至2030 年間為美國和歐洲提供超過10.5 吉瓦的新可再生能源產能。透過領先的平台建立業務在我們集中團隊的支持下，我們遍布全球最重要的電力市場，為我們提供了獨特的開發和營運能力，我們能夠利用當地關係進行許可和互連，並利用我們的全球採購和承包關係來提供大量容量這是很難匹配的。

This first-of-its-kind agreement between us and Microsoft is a natural development in the long-standing and well-established relationships between one of the largest buyers of power and one of the largest renewable power developers and operators globally. The agreement supports Microsoft on a path to achieving their energy procurement needs to support the rapidly growing business in a sustainable manner, while also enhancing our position to achieve or exceed our targeted growth by identifying the key requirements for new capacity, including the location of the capacity and the time line to deliver. Through the agreement, we have identified projects that are in various stages of development that can be offered to Microsoft under a pre-agreed standard form, power purchase agreement.

我們與微軟之間達成的這項史無前例的協議是全球最大的電力買家之一與全球最大的再生能源開發商和營運商之一之間長期且牢固的關係的自然發展。該協議支持微軟實現其能源採購需求，以可持續的方式支持快速增長的業務，同時還通過確定新產能的關鍵要求（包括工廠的位置）來增強我們實現或超越目標增長的地位。時間。透過該協議，我們已經確定了處於不同開發階段的項目，可以根據預先商定的標準形式、電力購買協議向微軟提供這些項目。

With the well-defined framework that aligns the 2 parties to work together, we are confident in the potential of expanding on this agreement going forward and furthering our position as a key partner to support the growth of Microsoft's business. This agreement already includes provisions to increase its scope to deliver additional renewable energy capacity within the U.S. and Europe and beyond to other regions, including Asia Pac, India and Latin America.

憑藉著明確的框架使兩方共同合作，我們對進一步擴展該協議的潛力充滿信心，並進一步鞏固我們作為支持微軟業務成長的關鍵合作夥伴的地位。該協議已包括擴大其範圍的條款，以在美國和歐洲以及亞太地區、印度和拉丁美洲等其他地區提供額外的再生能源產能。

The partnership is a testament to our differentiated offering, which is characterized by our access to capital and credibility to deliver scale, clean power solutions from our extensive pipeline of advanced stage projects, which are well positioned from an interconnection and permitting perspective in many key data center markets globally.

此次合作證明了我們差異化的產品，其特點是我們能夠獲得資金和信譽，透過我們廣泛的高級專案管道提供規模化的清潔電力解決方案，這些專案從互連和許可的角度來看在許多關鍵數據中都處於有利地位全球中心市場。

While this partnership is a first of its kind, given the significant scale of investment required to meet the increase in energy demand, we believe we are uniquely positioned to be a key enabler of growth for the largest technology players through similar arrangements. Our access to scale capital, sizable development pipeline, which is now almost 160 gigawatts, and our ability to commission significant capacity concurrently to meet this demand, altogether differentiate us as a partner.

雖然這種合作關係是首次，但考慮到滿足能源需求成長所需的巨額投資，我們相信我們具有獨特的優勢，可以透過類似的安排成為最大的技術參與者成長的關鍵推動者。我們擁有規模資本、龐大的開發管道（目前已接近 160 吉瓦），以及我們同時調試大量產能以滿足這一需求的能力，這些都使我們作為合作夥伴脫穎而出。

We are also uniquely positioned to provide a tailored solution to help address our customers' needs. Our ability to provide scale 24/7 clean power solutions through the combination of our large portfolio of existing hydro assets, our leading nuclear business and other renewable power capacity from across the technology spectrum also distinguishes our offering. This is translating into favorable contracting opportunities.

我們還具有獨特的優勢，可以提供量身定制的解決方案來幫助滿足客戶的需求。我們透過結合現有的大型水力資產組合、領先的核能業務和其他跨技術領域的再生能源發電能力，提供規模化的 24/7 清潔電力解決方案，這也使我們的產品脫穎而出。這正在轉化為有利的承包機會。

With that, we would now like to turn the call over to Esper to discuss our robust growth pipeline as well as our asset recycling initiatives.

至此，我們現在想將電話轉給埃斯珀，討論我們強勁的成長管道以及我們的資產回收計劃。

Thank you, Connor, and good morning, everyone. Our pipeline of attractive growth opportunities is as robust as ever, given our access to scale capital, strong operating business, and market conditions where not all counterparties are necessarily as well situated, creating a favorable environment for new investments.

謝謝你，康納，大家早安。鑑於我們擁有規模資本、強大的營運業務以及並非所有交易對手都處於有利地位的市場條件，我們的有吸引力的成長機會管道一如既往地強勁，為新投資創造了有利的環境。

In the foreseeable future, there is a need for greater amounts of capital for renewables than is available. As Connor mentioned, electricity demand is accelerating as a result of growth in digitalization, electrification and renewables, which are the lowest cost source of bulk power generation in most regions and countries now, and they're aligned with net-zero targets, are among the most likely sources to meet this growth.

在可預見的未來，再生能源需要比現有的更多的資金。正如康納所提到的，由於數位化、電氣化和可再生能源的增長，電力需求正在加速增長，這些是目前大多數地區和國家成本最低的大容量發電來源，並且與淨零排放目標保持一致。有可能滿足這種增長的來源。

In 2023, renewable capacity additions globally grew by 50% compared to the prior year. However, renewable power developers and operators were not prepared for a higher interest rate environment or are unable to manage through supply chain challenges have seen their business models disrupted. This has created an opportunity to invest for value, where for business, which remains insulated from such headwinds, we are ideally situated at the clean energy center between capital and opportunities.

2023 年，全球再生能源新增裝置容量較前一年成長 50%。然而，再生能源開發商和營運商並沒有為更高的利率環境做好準備，或無法應對供應鏈挑戰，導致他們的商業模式遭到破壞。這創造了價值投資的機會，對於不受此類逆風影響的企業來說，我們處於資本和機會之間的清潔能源中心，地理位置優越。

Our access to scale capital means we can execute on large opportunities where there are few viable partners and risk-adjusted returns can therefore be very attractive. Larger companies can also attract stronger management teams and have embedded growth opportunities, which when combined with our capital and capabilities, can allow us to unlock additional value creation that others cannot.

我們獲得規模資本意味著我們可以在幾乎沒有可行合作夥伴的情況下執行大型機會，因此風險調整後的回報非常有吸引力。較大的公司還可以吸引更強大的管理團隊並擁有嵌入的成長機會，這些機會與我們的資本和能力相結合，可以讓我們釋放其他公司無法創造的額外價值。

We're excited about the opportunity to add scale businesses and platforms in attractive markets where we can compound our competitive advantages. We're also able to leverage the expertise for global investment teams and our operating capabilities to strategically enter new markets, which enables us to look at a broader range of opportunities.

我們很高興有機會在有吸引力的市場中增加規模業務和平台，從而增強我們的競爭優勢。我們還能夠利用全球投資團隊的專業知識和我們的營運能力來策略性地進入新市場，這使我們能夠看到更廣泛的機會。

Thus far this year, we have advanced several growth initiatives that when closed would add operating capacity and near-term growth through our development pipeline, and based on our current pipeline, we are optimistic that capital deployment will accelerate throughout the rest of the year.

今年到目前為止，我們已經推進了幾項成長計劃，這些計劃關閉後將透過我們的開發管道增加營運能力和近期成長，並且根據我們目前的管道，我們樂觀地認為今年剩餘時間資本部署將加速。

On asset recycling, the market for the right type of renewable power asset continues to strengthen as the outlook for interest rates have stabilized. 2023 was a very strong year for capital rotation, and we expect to continue that trend this year. Our large and growing portfolio of contracted operating assets with fixed rate, nonrecourse financing and pipeline of derisked projects are in high demand from lower cost of capital buyers, where for scaling development activities, we have a growing pool of projects to monetize and crystallize strong returns. We are fortunate to have launched a significant pipeline of asset sales into this environment, which we are advancing across technologies and geographies with the consistent characteristic being the derisked nature of the assets.

在資產回收方面，隨著利率前景趨於穩定，合適類型的再生能源資產的市場繼續走強。 2023 年是資本輪替非常強勁的一年，我們預計今年將延續這一趨勢。我們龐大且不斷增長的固定利率、無追索權融資和低風險項目管道的合約營運資產組合受到資本成本較低的買家的強烈需求，為了擴大開發活動，我們擁有越來越多的項目來貨幣化和具體化強勁回報。我們很幸運，在這種環境下啟動了一系列重要的資產銷售管道，我們正在跨技術和地理推進，其一致特徵是資產的無風險性質。

In aggregate, we are targeting to generate $3 billion of proceeds or $1.3 billion net to BEP this year at attractive returns. With that, I'll pass it on to Wyatt to discuss our operating results and financial position.

總的來說，我們的目標是今年以有吸引力的回報為 BEP 帶來 30 億美元的收益或淨收益 13 億美元。接下來，我會將其轉交給懷亞特，討論我們的營運表現和財務狀況。

Thanks, Esper, and good morning, everyone. Our operating business had a strong start to the year, delivering record funds from operations as we benefited from our diverse operating assets and contributions from our growth and development activities. We generated FFO of $296 million in the quarter, up 8% year-over-year or $0.45 per unit. These results position us well to deliver on our 10%-plus FFO per unit growth target for the year.

謝謝埃斯珀，大家早安。我們的營運業務今年開局強勁，從營運中獲得了創紀錄的資金，因為我們受益於多元化的營運資產以及成長和發展活動的貢獻。本季我們產生了 2.96 億美元的 FFO，年增 8%，即每單位成長 0.45 美元。這些結果使我們能夠很好地實現今年每單位 FFO 成長 10% 以上的目標。

Our hydro assets exhibited strong cash flow resiliency, a reflection of our diversified asset base, inflation-linked power purchase agreements and ability to realize strong power prices. Our wind and solar segments benefited from our recently closed acquisitions including Dervia, formerly Duke Energy's unregulated renewable business, and on path, our U.K. wind, solar and storage platform.

我們的水電資產表現出強大的現金流彈性，反映了我們多元化的資產基礎、與通膨掛鉤的購電協議以及實現強勁電價的能力。我們的風能和太陽能部門受益於我們最近完成的收購，包括 Dervia（前杜克能源公司不受監管的再生能源業務），以及我們在英國的風能、太陽能和儲存平台。

Our Distributed Energy & Storage segment benefited from recent development activities and our Sustainable Solutions segment performed well as we felt the impact from a full quarter of contributions from Westinghouse. Our financial position remains excellent with a strong balance sheet and robust liquidity, positioning us to be opportunistic through the cycle.

我們的分散式能源和儲存部門受益於最近的開發活動，我們的永續解決方案部門表現良好，因為我們感受到了西屋電氣整個季度貢獻的影響。我們的財務狀況依然良好，擁有強勁的資產負債表和強勁的流動性，使我們能夠在整個週期中保持機會主義。

Over the quarter, we executed almost $6 billion in financing, taking advantage of pricing with spreads near historic lows. In January, we issued CAD 400 million of 30-year notes at 5.3%, and meaningfully extended our debt maturity profile. Later in the quarter, we issued $150 million of fixed-rate perpetual preferred equity, with proceeds being used to refinance outstanding preferred shares that were scheduled to reset in early April.

本季度，我們利用利差接近歷史低點的定價優勢執行了近 60 億美元的融資。一月份，我們以 5.3% 的利率發行了 4 億加元的 30 年期票據，並有意義地延長了我們的債務期限。在本季晚些時候，我們發行了 1.5 億美元的固定利率永久優先股，所得收益用於為計劃於 4 月初重置的已發行優先股進行再融資。

The newly issued notes are 70 basis points cheaper than the reset rate of the outstanding shares we redeemed, saving us almost $5 million over the next 5 years. We ended the quarter with $4.4 billion of available liquidity, enabling us to deploy significant capital into growth. Considering public market conditions, our strong conviction in the intrinsic value of our business and our healthy balance sheet position, we allocated capital to repurchase our units in the quarter.

新發行的票據比我們贖回的流通股的重置利率便宜 70 個基點，在未來 5 年內為我們節省了近 500 萬美元。本季結束時，我們擁有 44 億美元的可用流動資金，使我們能夠部署大量資本來促進成長。考慮到公開市場狀況、我們對業務內在價值的堅定信念以及健康的資產負債表狀況，我們在本季度分配資本回購我們的單位。

In the last 9 months, we repurchased over 4 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 we will continue to create meaningful value for our investors.

在過去 9 個月中，我們以正常發行人的出價回購了超過 400 萬個單位。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 return for our investors, leveraging our deep funding sources and operational capabilities to enhance and derisk our business. On behalf of the Board and management, we thank all of our unitholders and shareholders for the ongoing support. We are excited about Brookfield Renewable's future, and look forward to updating you on our progress throughout the year. 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.

最後，我們仍然致力於為投資者提供 12% 至 15% 的長期總回報，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。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，並期待向您通報我們全年的進展。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) Our first question comes from the line of Sean Steuart with TD Cowen.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Sean Steuart 和 TD Cowen 的線路。

A couple of questions on the Microsoft agreement to start with. Connor, can you give us more detail on the focus between North America versus Europe for this initial 5 years? And within the U.S., specifics on target regions and how your pipeline lines up with what Microsoft is targeting for their demand growth?

首先有幾個關於微軟協議的問題。康納，您能否為我們提供有關最初 5 年北美與歐洲之間重點的更多詳細資訊？在美國境內，目標地區的具體情況以及您的產品線如何與 Microsoft 的需求成長目標一致？

Sean, thanks for the question. Certainly. So we're thrilled about this arrangement with Microsoft. It's incredibly beneficial in help -- in how it will help us to further optimize and grow our development activities. In terms of the breakdown between Europe and the United States, the balance of it is certainly in the United States. And this just layers very logically with where you are seeing the greatest amount of data center build-out around the world. That pairs very, very well with our business. As many may know, on the call, the vast majority of our near-term development pipeline is in the United States and pairs very well with that growing demand. In terms of where within the individual regions, we'll probably avoid the specifics.

肖恩，謝謝你的提問。當然。因此，我們對與 Microsoft 的這項安排感到非常興奮。它的幫助非常有益——它將幫助我們進一步優化和發展我們的開發活動。從歐洲和美國的分水嶺來看，平衡點肯定在美國。這與您在世界各地看到的資料中心建造最多的地方非常合乎邏輯。這與我們的業務非常非常吻合。正如許多人可能知道的那樣，我們的近期開發項目絕大多數都在美國，並且與不斷增長的需求非常匹配。就各區域內的具體位置而言，我們可能會避免具體細節。

But the comment that can be made is, it's very well known where the largest data center markets are. These tend to be the areas where there is the most robust grid in order to support the build-out and where there is the greatest amount of development capacity in order to support that build out. So there's no secret sauce here. This is the locations where this activity will take place are primarily in the U.S. because that's where data centers are built mostly. And then within that, in the biggest data center markets within the United States.

但可以評論的是，最大的資料中心市場在哪裡是眾所周知的。這些地區往往擁有最強大的電網以支援擴建，並且擁有最大的開發能力以支援擴建。所以這裡沒有秘密武器。這項活動的地點主要在美國，因為那裡是資料中心的主要建設地點。然後是美國最大的資料中心市場。

Okay. One other question before I get back in the queue. The Biden Administration advancing trade action on solar panel imports from China, and it sounds like other Southeast Asian countries. Can you give us perspective on how BEP is positioned? Any possible impact on project economics as you see it going forward? How does this affect your growth plans in the technology?

好的。在我回到隊列之前還有一個問題。拜登政府正在推動從中國進口太陽能板的貿易行動，這聽起來就像其他東南亞國家一樣。可以為我們介紹一下 BEP 的定位嗎？您認為未來對專案經濟可能產生什麼影響？這對您的技術發展計劃有何影響？

Certainly. So one of the competitive advantages and something we've been very proud of over the last several years is the performance of our centralized procurement approach. And via that group, we've been constantly diversifying our ability to procure panels from different sources that give us a lot of flexibility as we manage through what is a very fluid situation in terms of tariffs and trade actions to the United States. We've certainly done some obvious things increasing our procurement from domestic manufacturers within the U.S. and things like our investment in Avaada, which is beginning to produce solar panels itself in India, put us in a unique position where we don't see the current environment slowing our growth profile in any way.

當然。因此，過去幾年我們的競爭優勢之一和我們一直非常自豪的就是我們集中採購方法的表現。透過團隊，我們一直在不斷多元化從不同來源採購面板的能力，這為我們在應對美國關稅和貿易行動方面非常不穩定的局勢時提供了很大的靈活性。當然，我們已經做了一些明顯的事情，增加了從美國國內製造商的採購，例如我們對Avaada 的投資，該公司開始在印度自己生產太陽能電池板，這使我們處於一個獨特的地位，我們看不到當前的情況。

The one additional point that I think it's important to recognize when it comes to the headlines around equipment procurement and solar panels is around the world, solar panels are -- in markets outside the United States, solar panels are cheaper today than they've been at any point in history. This really is a tale of 2 worlds, if you will. You've got the dynamics in the United States that are impacted by the trade discussions and the tariffs, in the United States, solar panel prices have come down materially in the last 12 months. But outside of the United States, solar panel prices have come down dramatically. And that is obviously very, very constructive to our broader business and the economics we can get out of our projects.

我認為，當涉及到世界各地有關設備採購和太陽能電池板的頭條新聞時，我認為重要的是要認識到，太陽能電池板在美國以外的市場上，今天的太陽能電池板比以前更便宜在歷史上的任何時刻。如果你願意的話，這確實是一個兩個世界的故事。美國的動態受到貿易討論和關稅的影響，在美國，太陽能板的價格在過去 12 個月中大幅下降。但在美國以外，太陽能板的價格已大幅下降。這顯然對我們更廣泛的業務以及我們可以從專案中獲得的經濟效益非常非常有建設性。

Our next question comes from the line of Rupert Merer with National Bank.

我們的下一個問題來自國家銀行的魯珀特·梅勒 (Rupert Merer)。

Can you give us a little more color on the scale of the market opportunity for power and data? And how much of your growth could come from data markets in the future. And I suppose if you look at the overall market for power, we're seeing drivers from reshoring, electrification, population growth. How much of that growth do you think can come from data?

您能給我們更多關於電力和數據市場機會規模的資訊嗎？未來您的成長有多少可能來自數據市場。我想如果你看看整個電力市場，我們會看到回流、電氣化和人口成長的驅動力。您認為這種成長有多少可以來自數據？

Thanks, Rupert. Maybe let's tackle this a slightly different way. The dynamic in the market today is very simply, there is an imbalance between supply and demand. There is far more demand for incremental new build in particular, clean power than there are available projects. And that is a dynamic that we do not expect to change for years or potentially decades to run because as you say, we've had these long-standing enduring trends that were driving electricity demand whether it be energy security, whether it be the electrification of industry, transport, residential, but all of that has just been multiplied in the last 12 to 24 months with this huge incremental driver of demand, which is data centers to support AI and cloud compute.

謝謝，魯珀特。也許讓我們用稍微不同的方式來解決這個問題。當今市場的動態非常簡單，供需之間存在不平衡。對增量新建項目（特別是清潔能源）的需求遠遠超過可用項目。我們預計這種動態在數年甚至數十年內都不會改變，因為正如您所說，我們已經有了這些長期持久的趨勢，這些趨勢正在推動電力需求，無論是能源安全，還是電氣化工業、交通、住宅等領域的需求在過去12 到24 個月內都在成倍增長，這是支持人工智慧和雲端運算的資料中心這一巨大增量需求驅動因素。

And therefore, in terms of how much of our growth is going to go towards supporting the tech sector, I would say, a very meaningful component but our business continues to be very, very well diversified. But the nature of the current environment is that incremental demand from the techs is really lifting all boats. And one thing that we are seeing on the ground across all of our businesses is that incremental demand from the techs for whom procuring power is on the critical path to growth, those companies are getting a lot more constructive around price and terms in how they procure power.

因此，就我們的成長將有多少用於支援科技產業而言，我想說，這是一個非常有意義的組成部分，但我們的業務仍然非常非常多元化。但當前環境的本質是，來自科技公司的增量需求確實正在推動一切。我們在所有業務中看到的一件事是，採購能力是成長關鍵路徑的科技公司的需求不斷增加，這些公司在採購方式上的價格和條款方面變得更具建設性力量。

And quite frankly, they're dragging the rest of the market with them and creating a really, really robust and constructive environment to be a renewables developer, whether you're contracting with a tech company or anyone else. So while we do expect a very large and growing portion of our business to be supplying this incremental tech demand, the point that we like to highlight is this incremental tech demand is supporting the entire sector regardless of who your counterparty is.

坦白說，他們正在拖累市場的其他部分，並為再生能源開發商創造一個真正非常強大和建設性的環境，無論你是與科技公司還是其他任何人簽訂合約。因此，雖然我們確實預計我們業務的很大一部分且不斷增長的部分將滿足這種增量技術需求，但我們想強調的一點是，這種增量技術需求正在支持整個行業，無論您的對手是誰。

All right. Great. And looking at your framework agreement with Microsoft, any color you can give on the typical terms you might expect in your contracts, maybe looking at contract duration or ability to index your power price. Any color?

好的。偉大的。查看您與 Microsoft 的框架協議，您可以對合約中可能期望的典型條款給予任何顏色，也許會考慮合約期限或對電價進行索引的能力。任何顏色？

Yes, certainly. So the way the framework agreement works is it aligns one of the largest, if not the largest, corporate procure green power with one of the, if not the largest, producer and provider of green power. And it makes it very, very efficient for us to work together because we have essentially agreed on a framework PPA under which we can offer Microsoft projects to meet their demand going forward. The important thing we would highlight about this agreement is it's really in line with our historic development approach. We -- the final prices in these PPAs and terms in these PPAs will be negotiated between us and Microsoft to reflect the cost of construction and financing at the time, and to ensure that they are within our target returns as we have done with Microsoft over the gigawatt of transactions we've done with them in recent times. Therefore, we expect the contracts that we execute under this agreement to be very much in line with what we've done in the past, long-term contracts, 15 to 20 years plus inflation-linked at agree to prone prices that allow us to achieve our target returns.

是的，當然了。因此，框架協議的運作方式是將最大的（如果不是最大的）綠色電力採購企業之一與最大的（如果不是最大的）綠色電力生產商和供應商之一聯合起來。這使得我們的合作變得非常非常高效，因為我們基本上就 PPA 框架達成了一致，根據該框架我們可以提供 Microsoft 專案來滿足他們未來的需求。關於該協議，我們要強調的重要一點是，它確實符合我們歷史上的發展方針。我們將與 Microsoft 協商確定這些 PPA 的最終價格和條款，以反映當時的建設和融資成本，並確保它們符合我們與 Microsoft 的目標回報之內。因此，我們預計我們根據該協議執行的合同將與我們過去所做的非常一致，長期合同，15至20年加上與通貨膨脹掛鉤的價格，使我們能夠實現我們的目標回報。

My final question here may be a question for Microsoft. But when you're working with Microsoft to develop power solutions to support data centers, how important is the cost of power, meaning are they looking to develop data centers where power is cheap? Or do you think there are more important considerations for the location?

我的最後一個問題可能是問微軟的問題。但是，當您與 Microsoft 合作開發支援資料中心的電源解決方案時，電力成本有多重要？還是您認為選址還有更重要的考量？

No doubt. That is a question for Microsoft. We wouldn't want to speak for them. But perhaps what we can share is what we are seeing in the market, which is -- and again, apologies to really be driving on, on this point. The supply-demand imbalance for power is very dramatic right now. And therefore, the accessibility to power, having comfort that the power is going to be delivered on time at scale in order to not compromise your growth trajectory, certainly seems to be the priority in the market today. And that's creating a really constructive environment for us as renewable power developers. But the important thing to recognize about the product that we do offer to Microsoft, all the technology companies, all of our broader power marketing clients is renewables are the cheapest form of bulk electricity. So even while this is a constructive market and it's allowing us to develop in a very attractive way, the power that we are offering them is long-duration power at a discount to retail rates, which is obviously supportive for their businesses.

毫無疑問。這是微軟的問題。我們不想為他們說話。但也許我們可以分享的是我們在市場上看到的情況，再次對在這一點上真正推動的事情表示歉意。目前電力供需失衡非常嚴重。因此，獲得電力的可及性，以及確保電力將按時大規模交付而不影響您的成長軌跡，無疑是當今市場的首要任務。這為我們作為再生能源開發商創造了一個真正建設性的環境。但對於我們向微軟、所有科技公司、我們所有更廣泛的電力行銷客戶提供的產品，需要認識到的重要一點是，再生能源是最便宜的大容量電力形式。因此，儘管這是一個建設性的市場，並且允許我們以非常有吸引力的方式發展，但我們向他們提供的電力是低於零售價的長期電力，這顯然有利於他們的業務。

Our next question comes from the line of Nelson Ng with Capital Markets -- RBC Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自 RBC 資本市場資本市場部 Nelson Ng。

Congrats on the Microsoft agreement. So no surprise one further question on the Microsoft arrangement. So I was just wondering whether the Microsoft transaction takes up a lot of your current development capacity in the U.S. over that 5-year period? And whether there's room for, let's say, another framework agreement with another offtaker in the U.S.

祝賀微軟協議。因此，關於微軟安排的進一步問題也就不足為奇了。所以我只是想知道微軟的交易是否會在這五年期間佔用你們目前在美國的大量開發能力？比如說，是否有空間與美國的另一家承購商簽訂另一項框架協議？

So I'll maybe come at that in reverse order. Absolutely, we could do other framework agreements or multiple other framework agreements, given the capacity we have and the pipeline we've assembled. I think it's important to understand the strategy that we have been pursuing, which is we have been acquiring and building a portfolio of leading renewable power developers with attractive pipelines in major core markets around the world because we had confidence that given our relationships with the large offtakers of power, we would be able to contract and build out those pipelines. And therefore, as we sit today, while we are thrilled about this agreement with Microsoft, we fully expect to not only expand this agreement but do other similar arrangements with other major buyers around the world.

所以我可能會以相反的順序來討論這個問題。當然，考慮到我們擁有的能力和我們已經組裝的管道，我們可以達成其他框架協議或多個其他框架協議。我認為了解我們一直追求的策略很重要，即我們一直在收購和建立領先的可再生能源開發商的投資組合，這些開發商在全球主要核心市場擁有有吸引力的管道，因為考慮到我們與大型企業的關係，我們有信心作為電力承購商，我們將能夠承包和建造這些管道。因此，當我們今天坐下來時，雖然我們對與微軟的這項協議感到興奮，但我們完全期望不僅擴大協議，而且與世界各地的其他主要買家達成其他類似的安排。

And maybe just to give some directional numbers around this, we are currently -- have a run rate of producing 7,000 to 8,000 megawatts of new generation capacity from organic development within our current business. Those numbers will naturally grow as our existing businesses get built out over time. And obviously, we are a growth company, we are going to consistently add other developers and other pipeline as we move through the remainder of this decade. It's very conceivable that by the period of '26 to '30, we will be producing well over 10 gigawatts a year, if not more. And therefore, while our arrangement with Microsoft takes -- derisks a good portion of that, it still is expected to only be a minority within our broader portfolio.

也許只是為了給出一些有關這個問題的方向性數字，我們目前的運作率是透過我們目前業務的有機開發生產 7,000 至 8,000 兆瓦的新一代容量。隨著我們現有業務的不斷發展，這些數字自然會成長。顯然，我們是一家成長型公司，在這十年的剩餘時間裡，我們將不斷增加其他開發商和其他管道。可以想像，到 26 年至 30 年期間，我們每年的發電量將超過 10 吉瓦，甚至更多。因此，雖然我們與微軟的安排消除了其中很大一部分風險，但預計它在我們更廣泛的投資組合中仍然只佔少數。

That's great color. So do you see this type of framework agreement as potentially being a template for, I guess, further project developments going forward?

那顏色真棒。那麼，您是否認為這種類型的框架協議可能成為未來進一步專案開發的範本？

Perhaps the way we'd answer that is, we have a lot of arrangements with different customers and those arrangements are always tailored to meet the needs of that specific customer. And while this agreement with Microsoft is certainly unique in its scale, we have lots of existing partnerships without our -- throughout our business, and we will continue to do other partnerships going forward, where this one is precedent setting and we do think will trigger other similar types agreements in its scale. But what we would expect is they all look a little bit different because one of the unique things that we can bring is not simply the scale, but the ability to tailor the energy solutions to meet that specific clients' needs. And therefore, these broad framework agreements, I would say, tend to be fit for purpose depending on who the counterparty is.

也許我們的回答是，我們與不同的客戶有很多安排，而這些安排總是為了滿足特定客戶的需求而量身定制的。雖然與微軟的這項協議在規模上確實是獨一無二的，但我們在整個業務中擁有許多現有的合作夥伴關係，而且我們將繼續開展其他合作夥伴關係，其中這一合作夥伴關係是先例，我們確實認為這將引發其規模的其他類似類型的協議。但我們期望的是它們看起來都有點不同，因為我們可以帶來的獨特之處之一不僅僅是規模，而是客製化能源解決方案以滿足特定客戶需求的能力。因此，我想說，這些廣泛的框架協議往往取決於交易對手是誰。

Okay. Great. And then just shifting gears a bit on the capital recycling side. You mentioned that you're expecting net proceeds to Brookfield Renewable of about $1.3 billion this year. Are you seeing some of that pent-up demand from last year kind of shift into this year? And then also, is it safe to assume that most of that capital recycling would happen in North America or maybe other parts like Asia Pacific? I know that you're -- you have a lot of, I think, solar projects and a few wind projects going on in the Asia Pacific region.

好的。偉大的。然後在資本回收方面稍微改變一下。您提到預計 Brookfield Renewable 今年的淨收益約為 13 億美元。您是否認為去年被壓抑的需求會轉移到今年？另外，是否可以安全地假設大部分資本回收將發生在北美或亞太地區等其他地區？我知道你們在亞太地區有很多太陽能專案和一些風能專案正在進行。

Sure. So maybe to take a step back and this wasn't your specific question. But one thing that we often get asked is, is this a better market for investing or a better market for capital recycling? And more so than probably any point in recent history, we would say right now the market is heavily, heavily bifurcated, and we think it is a very, very good market for both. And therefore, we are seeing very, very attractive opportunities to deploy capital at scale at attractive returns. But on the same time, we are also seeing a very robust bid for high-quality derisked assets. Now tying that back to your question, is some of this perhaps a little bit of pent-up demand from last year? Maybe. But we really think that the key drivers of it is there is still a broad institutional bias to adding more exposure to this space.

當然。所以也許退一步來說，這不是你的具體問題。但我們常被問到的一件事是，這是一個更好的投資市場還是一個更好的資本回收市場？我們可以說，目前市場嚴重分化，這可能比近代歷史上的任何時候都更加嚴重，我們認為這對雙方來說都是一個非常非常好的市場。因此，我們看到了非常非常有吸引力的機會，可以大規模部署資本並獲得可觀的回報。但同時，我們也看到高品質去風險資產的強烈競購。現在回到你的問題，這是否是去年被壓抑的需求的一部分？或許。但我們確實認為，其關鍵驅動因素仍存在廣泛的機構偏見，要求增加對該領域的更多曝險。

And with the stabilization of interest rates, there is still significant access to capital in this industry, and that is creating a very, very robust bid from both strategics and financials. In terms of where we are seeing opportunities for capital recycling, it is very broad-based. We are seeing opportunities in Asia Pac, as you mentioned. We are seeing opportunities in North America. The one that I would highlight that you didn't mention is we're also seeing significant opportunities for capital recycling in Europe.

隨著利率的穩定，該行業仍然有大量獲得資本的機會，這正在從策略和財務方面創造出非常非常強勁的出價。就我們看到的資本回收機會而言，它的基礎非常廣泛。正如您所提到的，我們在亞太地區看到了機會。我們在北美看到了機會。我要強調的是，您沒有提到的是，我們也看到了歐洲資本回收的重大機會。

Our next question comes from the line of Mark Jarvi with CIBC.

我們的下一個問題來自 CIBC 的 Mark Jarvi。

So just staying on the asset sales, that $1.3 billion net to BEP, how much line of sight do you have on that? How would you put your conviction level on hitting that number? Is there an opportunity to exceed that number this year?

那麼，僅停留在資產出售上，BEP 淨值 13 億美元，您對此有何看法？您對達到這個數字的信心程度如何？今年有機會超過這個數字嗎？

Mark, we feel very good about that number. We started the year by launching a few fairly meaningful sales processes that at this point are well advanced and are seeing strong traction. So in terms of hitting the number we've guided to, I would say we have a very, very high degree of comfort. And if we continue to see that robust bid for high-quality derisked assets, as we mentioned on the previous question, I think we would just continue to add to that pipeline of capital recycling because that is where our business can really hum. When we're able to sell high-quality derisked assets at a lower cost of capital and reinvest that capital into very attractive higher returning investments, that drives really great returns for our business. So if we continue to see the market play out as we're seeing it today, we'll certainly look to add to that pipeline throughout the year.

馬克，我們對這個數字感覺非常好。今年伊始，我們啟動了一些相當有意義的銷售流程，目前這些流程已經非常先進，並且具有強大的吸引力。因此，就達到我們指導的數字而言，我想說我們有非常非常高的舒適度。如果我們繼續看到對高品質無風險資產的強勁競購，正如我們在上一個問題中提到的那樣，我認為我們將繼續增加資本回收管道，因為這就是我們的業務真正蓬勃發展的地方。當我們能夠以較低的資本成本出售高品質的去風險資產並將這些資本再投資於非常有吸引力的高回報投資時，這將為我們的業務帶來真正巨大的回報。因此，如果我們繼續看到市場像今天這樣發展，我們肯定會在全年增加這個管道。

Just coming back to your comment about normalization and stabilization of interest rates, we did see a move back up in the 10 years. Did that slow any processes down? Or does that actually just push some sellers to have to transact just given where their own balance sheets are right now?

回到您關於利率正常化和穩定的評論，我們確實看到了十年來的回升。這是否會減慢任何進程？或者說，這實際上只是迫使一些賣家不得不根據自己目前的資產負債表狀況進行交易？

Certainly. So maybe the way I would position it is in 2023, and I'm clearly being a little bit illustrative here, interest rates went from 2% to 4% to 6%, and there was a concern they'd go even higher than that. Now interest rates have stabilized in a very constructive level. If they end up 50 basis points higher or 50 basis points lower, it is still a very constructive environment for investing and transacting. So we wouldn't expect the recent movement in interest rates to derail our plans for the year. What we would say is on the investing side, we are seeing some opportunities in the market where that move in interest rates from 0% to 2% to, let's say, 4% to 5%, there are some market participants whose capital structures or growth strategies were not well prepared for that move in interest rates, and that is one of the things that's driving opportunities for us to deploy capital at really attractive returns in this environment.

當然。所以也許我的定位是在 2023 年，我在這裡顯然是有點說明性的，利率從 2% 上升到 4% 再到 6%，有人擔心利率會比這個更高。現在利率已經穩定在一個非常有建設性的水平。如果最終上漲 50 個基點或下跌 50 個基點，這仍然是一個非常有建設性的投資和交易環境。因此，我們預計最近的利率變動不會破壞我們今年的計劃。我們想說的是，在投資方面，我們在市場上看到了一些機會，利率從 0% 到 2%，再到 4% 到 5%，有些市場參與者的資本結構或成長策略沒有為利率變動做好充分準備，而這正是推動我們在這種環境下以真正有吸引力的回報部署資本的機會的因素之一。

Understood. And then just lastly on the framework agreement with Microsoft and, obviously, you had a relationship with Amazon and you think about big buyers from the tech side of things, how does that factor into sort of your M&A pursuits, whether it's operating assets, you might be able to recontract or repowering or development pipelines. Has anything changed? Or have you seen this coming and that's already kind of factored into how you've been pursuing your acquisitions, both on development side and operating side?

明白了。最後，關於與微軟的框架協議，顯然，您與亞馬遜有關係，並且您從技術方面考慮大買家，這對您的併購追求有何影響，無論是營運資產，還是您的資產？承包、重新供電或開發管道。有什麼改變嗎？或者您是否預見了這種情況的發生，而這已經成為您在開發方面和營運方面進行收購的方式中考慮的因素？

So we very much appreciate the way you frame that question because if anything, perhaps what the agreement with Microsoft, given it's somewhat public nature does is it kind of demonstrates why we've been doing what we've been doing, which is very constructively and thoughtfully acquiring high-quality pipeline in critical markets around the world. So we absolutely will continue to do that going forward. And the demand that we are seeing gives us incredible conviction to continue to lean into that strategy. What the demand we are seeing and what the agreement with Microsoft does is it does really derisk a meaningful component of our development activities for the remainder of the decade.

因此，我們非常讚賞您提出這個問題的方式，因為如果有的話，也許與微軟的協議，考慮到它在某種程度上是公開的，它在某種程度上說明了為什麼我們一直在做我們一直在做的事情，這是非常有建設性的並深思熟慮地在全球關鍵市場收購高品質的管道。因此，我們絕對會繼續這樣做。我們所看到的需求給了我們難以置信的信心，讓我們繼續實施這項策略。我們所看到的需求以及與微軟達成的協議確實會危及我們在未來十年的開發活動中的一個有意義的組成部分。

And it also allows us to move with a lot of conviction to expand and develop in areas and geographies that match where we are seeing demand from our portfolio of customers. And when you have such strong visibility on tens or multiple tens of gigawatts of offtake, it really allows you to move with more confidence in things like putting shovels in the ground and getting development permits, it allows you to lean into, looking to source equipment, looking to source financing because you know that demand is going to be there. So we simply see this as a first step in accelerating into the strategy that we've been executing on for a number of years now.

它還使我們能夠滿懷信心地在與我們的客戶組合需求相匹配的領域和地區進行擴張和發展。當您對數十或數十吉瓦的發電量擁有如此強大的可視性時，它確實可以讓您對諸如將鏟子埋入地下和獲得開發許可之類的事情更有信心，它可以讓您深入了解，尋找設備來源，尋求融資，因為您知道需求將會存在。因此，我們只是將其視為加速實施我們多年來一直執行的策略的第一步。

Our next question is from the line of Jessica Hoyle with Scotiabank.

我們的下一個問題來自豐業銀行的傑西卡·霍伊爾。

So just to start thinking about the Microsoft deal and dealing with large tech companies, is how narrow is the competition to provide these types of renewable packages just given they are across multiple geographies and are quite large?

那麼，只要開始思考微軟的交易以及與大型科技公司打交道，考慮到這些類型的可再生能源包跨越多個地區並且規模相當大，提供這些類型的可再生能源包的競爭有多窄？

Thanks, Jessica. The arrangement we have been able and are fortunate to be partnered with Microsoft on and similar with some of our other very large customers, is there is a very significant differentiation. In order to be a credible partner of scale, one, you need the capital and the amount of capital to support these types of partnerships is very limited to a small number of participants in the marketplace today. So we would certainly see that as a major limiting factor and one that differentiates us. But the other important things that we would highlight is you need the operating capabilities. This is bringing on multiple projects across multiple geographies concurrently. And therefore, you need that best-in-class development and construction capability.

謝謝，傑西卡。我們能夠並且很幸運能夠與微軟合作，以及與我們其他一些非常大的客戶類似的合作，是有一個非常顯著的差異化。為了成為規模可靠的合作夥伴，第一，您需要資金，而支持這些類型的合作夥伴關係的資金量非常限於當今市場上的少數參與者。因此，我們肯定會認為這是一個主要的限制因素，也是我們與眾不同的一個因素。但我們要強調的另一件重要的事情是您需要營運能力。這使得多個地區同時開展多個項目。因此，您需要一流的開發和建置能力。

And then the last point is, even if you are large and have the capital and have the capabilities, you actually need the assets, you need the pipeline. And this is where our approach of acquiring pipeline over the last 2 or 4 or 5 years is really coming to fruition because we have the projects and the assets to meet this growing demand already. This is a very real opportunity today and really lends itself to those that have that pipeline already, not those who are going to start developing it today in order to deliver it several years from now.

最後一點是，即使你很大，有資本，有能力，你實際上需要資產，你需要管道。這就是我們過去 2、4、5 年收購管道的方法真正取得成果的地方，因為我們已經擁有滿足這種不斷增長的需求的項目和資產。今天這是一個非常真實的機會，並且確實適合那些已經擁有該管道的人，而不是那些今天要開始開發它以便在幾年後交付它的人。

That's helpful. And then you talked a little bit on this, but maybe can you talk a little bit more about the opportunity set out there just in terms of buy versus build. There seem to be a lot of packages out there. So I just want to get your overall thoughts on these dynamics in the market.

這很有幫助。然後您對此進行了一些討論，但也許您可以更多地討論購買與構建方面的機會。那裡似乎有很多包裹。所以我只想了解您對市場動態的整體看法。

Great. The -- back to the comment that we think it is a bifurcated market where you can be both a very active buyer and a very active capital recycler, we do expect there to be a lot of transactions this year for the same reasons. Banks are lending. Again, the institutional bid is back, the strategic bid is back, and there is certainly a lot of capital available in the space. Given the very robust pipeline that Esper highlighted, we mean this with absolutely no sensationalization, our pipeline for growth is probably larger today than it's been at any point in history. And as a result of the scale of that pipeline, it is quite diversified. It is across both operating assets and development opportunities really across all markets around the world that we're active in.

偉大的。回到我們認為這是一個分叉市場的評論，您既可以成為非常活躍的買家，也可以成為非常活躍的資本回收者，我們確實預計今年會出於同樣的原因出現大量交易。銀行在放款。機構競購又回來了，策略競購又回來了，而且這個領域肯定有大量可用資金。鑑於埃斯珀強調的非常強勁的管道，我們的意思絕對不是聳人聽聞，我們今天的成長管道可能比歷史上任何時候都更大。由於該管道的規模很大，因此它相當多樣化。我們積極參與的業務涉及全球所有市場的營運資產和發展機會。

I'm currently showing no further questions at this time. I'd like to hand the call back over to Connor Teskey for closing remarks.

我目前沒有提出任何進一步的問題。我想將電話轉回給康納·泰斯基（Connor Teskey）做總結發言。

Great. Well, thank you, everyone, for joining us on today's call. As always, we greatly appreciate your interest and support of Brookfield Renewable and we look forward to giving you an update following our Q2 results. Thank you, and have a great day.

偉大的。好的，謝謝大家參加今天的電話會議。像往常一樣，我們非常感謝您對布魯克菲爾德再生能源公司的興趣和支持，我們期待在第二季的結果之後向您提供最新資訊。謝謝您，祝您有美好的一天。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

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。