100th Operating Solar Asset

RNS Number : 2326O

NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited

09 June 2022

 

LEI: 213800ZPHCBDDSQH5447

9 June 2022

NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited

("NESF" or the "Company")

100th Operating Solar Asset

NextEnergy Solar Fund, the specialist solar power renewable energy investment company, is pleased to announce its portfolio has reached one hundred operating solar assets.

The Company's hundredth operating solar asset is a 181kW commercial rooftop solar power asset located on a Holiday Inn in Nottinghamshire.  The asset benefits from an attractive 25-year power purchase agreement ("PPA") for 100% of its generated volume.

This asset marks the final investment under the Company's rooftop solar venture with renewable energy developer, Zestec. The partnership, which was formed in March 2021 has allowed the Company to add five rooftop solar assets with a combined capacity of 0.9MW, yielding attractive future risk-weighted financial returns in line with the Company's strategy. The five rooftop assets benefit from long term, inflation linked PPA's with the building tenants, with t wo benefiting from government subsidised Feed in Tariffs ("FiTs").  The rooftop assets generate stable priced, sustainable energy for the tenants, helping them to reduce power price volatility whilst achieving their decarbonisation ambitions.

Zestec portfolio breakdown:

NESF asset number	Rooftop solar asset	Location	Subsidy/PPA	Installed capacity (MW)	Cost (£m)	Remaining life of plant (Years)
96	Newfield	Cheshire	FiTs UK	0.18	0.17	22.4
97	JSC	Worcestershire	FiTs UK	0.04	0.04	17.4
98	Karcher	Oxfordshire	Subsidy-free	0.3	0.23	23
99	Dolphin	East Sussex	Subsidy-free	0.21	0.15	24.6
100	Holiday Inn	Nottinghamshire	Subsidy-free	0.18	0.19	25.0

The Company continues to pursue an exciting £350m pipeline, which includes UK standalone energy storage, international solar assets, and co-located battery storage via the Company's newly announced retrofit program.

Ross Grier, UK Managing Director, NextEnergy Group commented:

"NESF's hundredth solar asset, in Nottinghamshire, marks another major milestone in short succession after announcing international co-investments and battery storage acquisitions.  NESF has consistently delivered on strategy since its IPO in 2014, and the fact that this latest solar asset is based on the rooftop of an international hotel chain shows how far the solar sector has matured and developed, with it now accepted and embraced as a major energy asset class.  As the cheapest and quickest to construct form of renewable energy, solar is vital to the transition to net zero and NESF is proud of the part it is playing in this transition."

For further information:

NextEnergy Capital Group	020 3746 0700
Michael Bonte-Friedheim	[e-mail]
Aldo Beolchini
Ross Grier
Peter Hamid (Investor Relations)
RBC Capital Markets	020 7653 4000
Matthew Coakes
Kathryn Deegan
Cenkos Securities	020 7397 8900
James King
William Talkington
Camarco	020 3781 8334
Owen Roberts
Eddie Livingstone-Learmonth
Ocorian Administration (Guernsey) Limited	014 8174 2642
Kevin Smith

Notes to Editors¹ :

About NextEnergy Solar Fund

NESF is a specialist solar power renewable energy investment company listed on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange that invests in utility-scale solar power plants and energy storage.  The Company may invest up to 30% of its gross asset value in non-UK OECD countries, 15% in solar-focused private equity structures, and 10% in energy storage.

NESF currently has a diversified portfolio comprising of the following:

Solar PV:

· 100 operating solar assets across the UK and Italy (primarily on agricultural, industrial, and commercial sites)

· A 50MW co-investment into a Spanish solar project alongside NextPower III ESG, currently under construction

· A 210MW co-investment into a Portuguese solar project alongside NextPower III ESG, currently under construction

· A subsidy-free UK solar project under construction (Whitecross 36MW)

· A ready-to-build subsidy-free UK solar project (Hatherden 50MW)

· A $50m commitment into NextPower III ESG (a private solar infrastructure fund providing exposure to both operating and under construction, international solar assets)

Energy Storage:

· A 50MW standalone battery storage project in Fife, Scotland, currently under construction (part of a 250MW joint venture with Eelpower)

· A 6MW co-located battery storage project at North Norfolk Solar Farm

The NESF portfolio has a combined installed power capacity of 865MW (excluding NextPower III MW on an equivalent look-through basis).

As at 31 March 2022, the Company had an unaudited gross asset value of £1,150 million, being the aggregate of the net asset value of the ordinary shares, the fair value of the preference shares and the amount of NESF Group debt outstanding, and a net asset value of £669 million.

NESF's investment objective is to provide ordinary shareholders with attractive risk-adjusted returns, principally in the form of regular dividends, by investing in a diversified portfolio of solar energy and energy storage infrastructure assets.  The majority of NESF's long-term cash flows are inflation-linked via UK government subsidies.

For further information on NESF please visit www. nextenergysolarfund.com

Commitment to ESG

NESF is committed to ESG principles and responsible investment which make a meaningful contribution to reducing CO2 emissions through the generation of clean solar power.  NESF will only select investments that meet the requirements of NEC Group's Sustainable Investment Policy.  Based on this policy, NESF benefits from NEC's rigorous ESG due diligence on each investment.  NESF is committed to reporting on its ESG performance in accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goals framework and the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation.

NESF has been awarded the London Stock Exchange's Green Economy Mark and has been designated a Guernsey Green Fund by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.

NESF's sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 can be accessed on the ESG section of both the NESF website ( nextenergysolarfund.com/esg/ ) & NEC Group website ( nextenergycapital.com/sustainability/transparency-and-reporting/ ).

About NextEnergy Group

NESF is managed by NextEnergy Capital, part of the NextEnergy Group.  NextEnergy Group was founded in 2007 to become a leading market participant in the international solar sector.  Since its inception, it has been active in the development, construction, and ownership of solar assets across multiple jurisdictions.  NextEnergy Group operates via its three business units: NextEnergy Capital (Investment Management), WiseEnergy (Operating Asset Management) and Starlight (Asset Development).

NextEnergy Capital

NextEnergy Capital comprises the Group's investment management activities.  To date, NEC has invested in over 325 individual solar plants for a capacity in excess of 2.3GW across it institutional funds. 
www.nextenergycapital.com

· NextEnergy Solar Fund ("NESF") is a solar infrastructure investment company focused on the UK and other OECD countries, which is listed on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange.  It currently owns 865MW spread among 100 individual operating assets in the UK and Italy, comprising an unaudited gross asset value of £1,150m.  NESF is one of the largest listed solar energy investment companies in the world.

· NextPower II ("NPII") a private fund made up of 105 individual operating solar power plants and an installed capacity of 149MW, focused on consolidating the substantial, highly fragmented Italian solar market.  NPII was successfully divested in January 2022, a 2016 vintage vehicle that generated net IRRs to its investors in excess of 25%, versus a gross target of 10-12%.

· NextPower III ESG ("NPIII ESG") is a private fund exclusively focused on the international solar infrastructure sector, principally targeting projects in carefully selected OECD countries, including the US, Portugal, Spain, Chile, Poland and Italy.  NPIII ESG is a fund that provides a positive social and environmental impact to the countries it has and will invest into.  NPIII completed its fundraise with a total of $896m, including a SMA raised.  The target of the fund was $750m.

· NextPower UK ESG ("NPUK ESG") is a private unlevered fund investing in greenfield subsidy-free solar projects, with PPA's, in the UK.  NPUK ESG was launched in December 2021.  The UK Infrastructure Bank is providing financing to the initial seed assets of the fund, and plans to invest up to £250m, half of the fund's total target fund size, on a match-funding basis.

WiseEnergy

WiseEnergy® is NextEnergy Capital Group's operating asset manager.  WiseEnergy is a leading specialist operating asset manager in the solar sector.  Since its founding, WiseEnergy has provided solar asset management, monitoring and technical due diligence services to over 1,300 utility-scale solar power plants with an installed capacity in excess of 2.2GW.  WiseEnergy clients comprise leading banks and equity financiers in the energy and infrastructure sector. 

www.wise-energy.com

Starlight

Starlight is NextEnergy Group's development company that is active in the development phase of solar projects.  It has developed over 100 utility-scale projects internationally and continues to progress a large pipeline of c.2.5GW of both green and brownfield project developments across global geographies.

Notes:

^1: All financial data is unaudited as at 31 March 2022, being the latest date in respect of which NESF has published financial information

 

END

 

 

UPDUPUPWQUPPGMR