For years, some of the biggest names in commercial real estate have been inching deeper into infrastructure, chasing power assets as electricity constraints reshape where and how buildings get developed. CIM Group is now formally joining that crowd.
The Los Angeles-based investor has launched a new unit, Permanent Power Co., to generate and sell electricity in bulk to large energy providers or corporate clients.
The new unit — backed by a $400 million financing commitment and a long-term power purchase agreement with an undisclosed investment-grade buyer — pushes CIM further into owning power generation as a core business, according to co-founder Avi Shemesh.
The platform “is focused on long-term growth and a stable energy supply, domestic power generation, energy storage and transmission,” Shemesh said in a statement. The significant purchase agreement is with a “regulated power division of a $200 billion global energy supermajor,” he added. That contract “underscores the momentum behind this platform and supports our ability to deliver power to our clients at significant scale.”
Across the country, power has become a limiting factor for everything from data centers hunting for megawatts to multifamily projects stalled by grid delays. Meanwhile, landlords are facing tenant pressure to deliver cleaner, more reliable energy.
That mix is nudging real estate firms to expand beyond traditional real estate and invest in networks that power property. Larger rivals such as Blackstone, Brookfield and KKR are investing in renewable energy providers even as they make location decisions for new data centers, offices and logistics facilities based on availability of energy.
At launch, Permanent Power combines about 1,200 megawatts of solar capacity and 690 megawatts of battery storage — roughly enough to power hundreds of thousands of homes or multiple hyperscale data centers spanning several million square feet — anchored by projects in California’s San Joaquin Valley and backed by financing from HPS Investment Partners, part of BlackRock.
For CIM, the platform ties together more than a decade of solar investing with its core real estate strategy, signaling a future where owning buildings increasingly means owning the power that runs them, Shemesh said.
The firm plans to pursue additional energy projects across the United States, with a focus on rural areas that qualify for the federal “opportunity zone” program.
Real estate power shift
CIM’s power ambitions are rooted in California’s Central Valley, where vast stretches of drainage‑impaired farmland have been repurposed into solar fields. What was once land too waterlogged and contaminated for crops has become one of the country’s most significant renewable energy corridors.
The firm made its first move there in 2014, investing in what became Westlands Solar Park, a master‑planned site where rows of panels now cover more than 20,000 acres. Over time, the project grew through phased construction, battery storage additions and long‑term power contracts, turning a speculative land play into a durable infrastructure asset.
In 2025, CIM consolidated those holdings into Westlands Electric Power Co., and the launch of Permanent Power takes that California‑centric portfolio a step further. The new platform is designed for long‑term ownership and national expansion rather than one‑off development and exit.
Unlike some rivals that are leaning heavily on gas‑fired plants to meet surging demand, CIM is betting on solar paired with battery storage.
Blackstone, through its infrastructure arm, holds a multibillion‑dollar stake in Invenergy Renewables, giving it significant influence over one of the country’s largest wind and solar developers.
KKR, meanwhile, became the controlling owner of utility‑scale solar and storage developer Avantus in 2024, while also expanding aggressively into power tied to data center growth.
And Brookfield controls Brookfield Renewable Partners, a global clean‑power operator with tens of gigawatts of capacity, underscoring how a handful of heavyweight investors are embedding power generation directly into their broader real estate and infrastructure strategies.
Meanwhile, Google parent Alphabet said it would acquire Intersect, a data center and clean energy developer, for $4.75 billion to help the firm secure the power needed to stay competitive in the artificial intelligence race.
Founded in 1994, CIM Group has grown from a Los Angeles redevelopment specialist into a national real estate and infrastructure investor that has managed more than $60 billion in projects and owns roughly $29.9 billion in real estate.
CIM Group often assembles clusters of neighboring properties in Los Angeles to create larger redevelopment opportunities. For example, it transformed an aging Hollywood studio lot into the modern Lot at Formosa campus and is planning West Hollywood’s tallest tower on a former concrete plant site at 1000 N. La Brea — both cases where combining parcels unlocked more value.