LEI: 213800ZPHCBDDSQH5447
15 March 2024
NextEnergy Solar Fund
Limited
("NESF"
or the "Company")
260MW International Solar
Co-Investments Energised
NextEnergy Solar Fund, a leading
specialist investor in solar energy and energy storage, is pleased
to announce the energisation of its first two international solar
co-investments alongside NextPower III ESG ("NPIII ESG"), bringing
an additional 260MW online
in Europe and increasing NESF's total installed net capacity to
979MW.
The two assets consist of a 210MW
solar project located in Santarém, Portugal, known as Santarém, and
a 50MW solar asset located
in Cadiz, Spain, known as Agenor. The combined assets are
expected to produce 445GWh of renewable electricity every year, the
equivalent of powering approximately 126,700 homes.
NESF directly owns 13.6% of Santarém, 24.5% of Agenor, and 6.21% of NPIII ESG. The
energisation of these assets adds 46MW to NESF's total installed net
capacity on a look-through basis.
Both Santarém and Agenor benefit
from long-term contracted revenues through Power Purchase
Agreements ("PPAs") with Statkraft, a high-quality corporate
off-taker in Europe's energy market. The PPA covering
Santarém is notable, being the largest PPA in the history of
Portugal to date, showing the continued demand for high-quality
corporate PPAs across the European market.
NPIII ESG, into which NESF invested
$50m in June 2021, 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, Poland,
Greece, and Italy. NPIII ESG has 173 solar and storage
assets, totalling 1.8GW.
Helen Mahy, Chair of NextEnergy
Solar Fund Limited, commented:
"Energisation of 50MW at Agenor in Spain and 210MW at Santarém
in Portugal marks a significant milestone in NESF's expansion and
international diversification of our operational solar asset base.
These projects will generate electricity for the equivalent
of more than 126,700 homes and demonstrate our commitment to
providing reliable, renewable energy solutions. Both projects
also benefit from a 100% PPA with Statkraft which ensures long-term
contracted revenue and visibility of cash flow."
Ross Grier, COO & Head of UK
Investment, NextEnergy Capital, commented:
"With Agenor and Santarém now operational, we've completed our
first direct international co-investments made by NESF through
NextPower III ESG. The co-investment structure provides attractive
exposure to international solar assets alongside other
institutional investors and allows us to realise an uplift in
installed capacity on a no-fee, no-carry basis. This enables us to
target utility-scale solar assets across developed global markets
and contributes to our long-term growth
objectives."
For further information:
NextEnergy Capital
Michael Bonte-Friedheim
|
020 3746 0700
ir@nextenergysolarfund.com
|
Ross Grier
|
|
Stephen Rosser
|
|
Peter Hamid (Investor
Relations)
|
|
RBC Capital Markets
|
020 7653 4000
|
Matthew Coakes
|
|
Elizabeth Evans
Kathryn Deegan
|
|
Cavendish
|
020 7397 1909
|
James King
|
|
William Talkington
|
|
H/Advisors Maitland
|
020 7379 5151
|
Neil Bennett
|
|
Finlay Donaldson
|
|
|
|
Ocorian Administration (Guernsey)
Limited
|
01481 742642
|
Kevin Smith
|
|
Notes to
Editors1:
About NextEnergy Solar
Fund
NextEnergy Solar Fund is a
specialist solar energy and energy storage investment company that
is listed on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange and
is a FTSE 250 constituent.
NextEnergy Solar Fund'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.
The NextEnergy Solar Fund portfolio
has a combined installed power capacity of 933MW, generating enough
renewable energy to power the equivalent of c.242,000 average UK
home electricity needs for an entire year. The Fund 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 2023, the Company
had an unaudited gross asset value of £1,173m. For further
information please visit www.nextenergysolarfund.com
Article 9 Fund
NextEnergy Solar Fund is classified
under Article 9 of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation
and EU Taxonomy Regulation. NextEnergy Solar Fund's
sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector
are in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 and can be
accessed on the ESG section of both the NextEnergy Solar Fund and
NextEnergy Capital website.
About NextEnergy Group
NextEnergy Solar Fund 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: Over 16 years of specialist
solar expertise having invested in over 400 individual solar plants
across the world. NextEnergy Capital currently manages four
institutional funds with a total capacity in excess of 3GW+ and has
assets under management of $3.9bn. www.nextenergycapital.com
· 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 1,450 utility-scale solar
power plants with an installed capacity in excess of
1.8GW. www.wise-energy.com
·
Starlight: 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 2023, being the latest date in respect of
which NextEnergy Solar Fund has published financial
information