NextEnergy Capital has so far raised 拢653m for its NextPower UK ESG (NPUK) solar fund, with London LGPS CIV committing additional capital to help the fund exceed its target of 拢500m by 30%.
Other investors in the fund include LGPS Central, Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, Merseyside Pension Fund, Brunel Pension Partnership, Strathclyde Pension Fund, plus investors from the Middle East and Japan.
The UK Infrastructure Bank provided cornerstone match-funding capital of 拢250m and the LGPS investors have helped NPUK to access solar PV projects in their local jurisdictions as well as pursuing levelling-up agendas.
Operational and construction assets in the NPUK portfolio now stand at more than 75% of the fund鈥檚 total capacity. NextPower said its UK ESG fund 鈥渞emains on track to outperform its return, with dividends to date being significantly above the target鈥�.
The manager added that once the fund is fully deployed it will have approximately 2GW of capacity.
NPUK ESG is a private UK solar fund that focuses on acquiring utility-scale solar and battery storage assets at the ready-to-build stage, constructing them through to energisation. Once the assets are operational, NextEnergy said that NPUK monetises the power generated through a fully contracted strategy enabling 鈥渁 high degree of predictability and visibility on the fund鈥檚 cash yield鈥�.
Michael Bonte-Friedheim, NextEnergy Group CEO and founder, said: 鈥淚 am proud that NPUK has total funds committed to date of over circa 拢653m, which is 30% above the target of 拢500m. This is a testament to NextEnergy Capital鈥檚 leadership in the solar energy sector at a critical time.
鈥淎s a private new-build solar strategy that focuses on acquiring utility-scale solar assets at the ready-to-build stage in the UK, NPUK investors benefit from the market leading expertise we bring alongside our hands-on approach to value creation and asset optimisation.鈥�
Shane Swords, managing director and head of investor relations at NextEnergy Capital, said: 鈥淣PUK continues to demonstrate solid progress in addition to already distributing strong dividends to its investors.
鈥淣PUK鈥檚 success is underpinned by its large pipeline and swift capital deployment, which commenced just seven weeks after the fund鈥檚 first close, with the fund now having nearly 500MW. The fund鈥檚 strategy has aligned really well with that of the LGPS community and it鈥檚 great to see so many LGPS investors backing renewable energy assets here in the UK.鈥�
To read the latest 91传媒在线 magazine click here.
