JLL has reached an agreement to acquire a specialist investment bank focused on companies in the renewable energy sector. 

The deal for Javelin Capital, which is expected to close shortly following regulatory approvals, expands the brokerage’s capital markets platform, JLL announced. A price wasn’t disclosed. 

Unsplash/American Public Power Association

Solar energy projects made up more than 80% of all new electricity capacity additions in 2024

Javelin, a boutique energy finance firm, was formed in 2017 and has 16 New York and Chicago-based employees, including CEO and Managing Director Matt Eastwick, who will transition to JLL. 

“Welcoming Javelin Capital to the JLL team expands our ability to guide clients with end-to-end support through the clean energy transition, bolstering our team in the U.S. to match our leading work in the space across Asia and Europe,” JLL Capital Markets CEO Richard Bloxam said in a statement. 

JLL noted that the acquisition comes as the clean energy sector undergoes “unprecedented growth.” 

Last year marked the first time that solar and wind combined generated more electricity than coal, according to a report by Ember, a global energy think tank. Solar alone made up more than 80% of all new capacity additions in 2024, with Texas solar developments being the largest contributors.

Finding ways to enhance the power grid has become increasingly necessary as massive data centers, some of which require as much energy as small cities, come online in record numbers.

But because of the intense and immediate need for power, more developers and tech firms are tapping energy from fossil fuel sources — backsliding on previous climate goals. 

In December, Meta revealed plans to build its largest-ever data center campus in Richland Parish, Louisiana. In addition to more than 4M SF of data centers on 2,250 acres, the $10B project includes a 1.5-gigawatt, gas-fueled power plant. The plant will produce more energy than what’s needed to power a city the size of Houston for a year.