NESF Nextenergy Solar Fund Limited

TIDMNESF

RNS Number : 0121V

NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited

03 April 2023

LEI: 213800ZPHCBDDSQH5447

03 April 2023

NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited

("NESF" or the "Company")

Helen Mahy joins Board of Directors

NextEnergy Solar Fund, the specialist solar+ fund, is pleased to formally welcome Helen Mahy CBE to the Board of Directors as a non-executive Director. Helen will succeed Kevin Lyon as Chairman of NESF from the next AGM in August 2023.

Helen currently sits as a non-executive Director of SSE plc and Gowling WLG (UK) LLP. Helen has previously served as Group General Counsel and Company Secretary of the National Grid plc, and more recently as Chairman of The Renewables Infrastructure Group having served her full nine-year tenure.

As part of the Company's transparent approach to corporate governance, Helen currently holds 38,586 ordinary shares in NESF, purchased after the Company announced her succession to the Chairman of the Board.

Pursuant to Listing Rule 9.6.13 the following disclosure is made:

Helen is a non-executive Director of SSE plc and is Chairman of its Safety, Sustainability, Health and Environment Advisory Committee. There are no further disclosures required pursuant to LRs 9.6.13 and 9.6.11.

 
 For further information: 
 
  NextEnergy Capital                              020 3746 0700 
  Michael Bonte-Friedheim                         ir@nextenergysolarfund.com 
 Ross Grier 
 Stephen Rosser 
 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 Editors(1) :

About NextEnergy Solar Fund

NESF is a specialist solar+ fund listed on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE250. 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 utility-scale solar energy and energy storage infrastructure assets. The majority of NESF's long-term cash flows are inflation-linked via UK government subsidies.

NESF currently has a diversified portfolio comprising of the following:

Solar PV:

-- 99 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 UK solar project under construction (Whitecross 36MW) 
   --      A ready-to-build 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:

Joint Venture Partnership with Eelpower:

-- A 50MW standalone battery storage project in Fife, Scotland, currently under construction (part of a GBP300m joint venture with Eelpower)

-- A portfolio of 250MW pre-construction standalone battery storage projects in the East of England

Co-located programme:

-- First site identified for a 6MW co-located battery storage project at North Norfolk Solar Farm and discussions are ongoing with the local distribution network operator to confirm an energisation date.

The NESF portfolio has a combined installed power capacity of 865MW (excluding NextPower III MW on an equivalent look-through basis). NESF may invest up to 30% of its gross asset value in non-UK OECD countries, 15% in solar-focused private infrastructure funds, and 10% in energy storage assets.

As at 31 December 2022, the Company had an unaudited gross asset value of GBP1,252m.

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.

Article 9 Fund

NESF is classified under Article 9 of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and EU Taxonomy Regulation.

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 & NEC website.

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 ("NEC") comprises the Group's investment management activities. To date, NEC has invested in over 350 individual solar plants for a capacity in excess of 2.4GW across it institutional funds. www.nextenergycapital.com

 
 --   NextEnergy Solar Fund ("NESF") is a specialist solar(+) 
       fund, which is listed on the premium segment of the London 
       Stock Exchange. It currently has an installed capacity of 
       865MW spread among 99 individual operating assets in the 
       UK and Italy, comprising an unaudited gross asset value of 
       GBP1,252m. NESF is one of the largest listed solar and energy 
       storage 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 in excess 
       of its gross target of 10-12%. 
 --   NextPower III ESG ("NPIII") 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 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 an SMA raised. The target of the fund was 
       $750m. 
 --   NextPower UK ESG ("NPUK") is a private unlevered fund investing 
       in greenfield subsidy-free solar projects, with PPA's, in 
       the UK. NPUK ESG is a 10-year closed-ended private fund launched 
       in December 2021 targeting GBP500m. To date, NPUK has raised 
       total commitments of GBP5 95 m exceeding its target six within 
       six months of first close , with the UK Infrastructure Bank 
       providing cornerstone match-funding o f GBP250m. 
 --   NextPower V ESG ("NPV") is a private contracted OECD solar 
       strategy that offers investors the opportunity to earn strong 
       risk-adjusted returns from the solar PV infrastructure asset 
       class with a highly experienced team and a track record of 
       success in OECD-based solar deployment. The strategy will 
       primarily invest in OECD solar assets and adjacent technologies 
       (e.g. battery storage) in the target markets. NPV ESG is 
       targeting $1.5bn in size with a $2bn ceiling. 
 

WiseEnergy (R)

WiseEnergy(R) is NextEnergy 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 1,350 utility-scale solar power plants with an installed capacity in excess of 1.8GW. 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.10GW of both green and brownfield project developments across global geographies.

Notes:

(1:) All financial data is unaudited at 31 December 2022, being the latest date in respect of which NESF has published financial information

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April 03, 2023 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)