REG - Downing Renew& Infra - Acquisition of Five Swedish Hydropower Plants

Downing Renewables & Infrastructure TrustAnnouncement

29/01/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 1104B  Downing Renewables & Infrastructure  29 January 2024

29 January 2024

Downing Renewables & Infrastructure Trust plc
Acquisition of Five Swedish Hydropower Plants

 

 

The Board of Downing Renewables & Infrastructure Trust plc (the "Company"
or "DORE") is pleased to announce the acquisition of five hydropower plants
located in Sweden with a combined expected annual average production of c. 9
GWh for a total investment of c. £6.0m (EUR 6.7m). The acquisitions were
funded using Downing Hydro AB's long-term debt facility and completed in
December 2023.

 

The assets are located in Sweden's SE2 and SE3 pricing regions and all plants
benefit from meaningful reservoir capacity that allows for better water
storage and management to optimise production.

The hydropower plant in the SE3 pricing region is located on the Säveån
river in south-west Sweden, which is a new geographical area and river system,
further diversifying the portfolio across different water catchment areas.

 

The Company's hydropower portfolio now has 34 assets with a forecast annual
average production of c. 215 GWh.

 

Hydropower frequency market upgrades

 

Downing Hydro AB has continued the roll-out of software and hardware upgrades
across its portfolio to allow the relevant hydropower plants to participate in
the frequency containment markets in addition to their electricity generation
activities.

 

As at end of December 2023, the hardware had been installed at 20 plants and
the first submission to the Swedish Transmission Operator (SvK) for
pre-qualification had been made. The residual sites are expected to be
submitted for pre-qualification during the first quarter of 2024. The Company
expects that the pre-qualification approval process will be finalised and
nearly all relevant facilities will be phased into the Frequency Containment
Reserves (FCR) markets during the first and second quarters of 2024.

 

Tom Williams, Partner, Head of Energy and Infrastructure at Downing LLP,
commented: "Following our recent Icelandic hydropower acquisition, we are
pleased to add another five hydro plants to the DORE portfolio. We are also
delighted with the progress of the software and hardware upgrades to the
hydropower fleet and hope to see the first facilities participating in the
Swedish frequency markets this quarter."

ENDS

 

Contact details:

 Downing LLP - Investment Manager to the Company                     +44 (0)20 3954 9908

 Tom Williams

 Singer Capital Markets - Joint Corporate Broker                     +44 (0)20 7496 3000

 Robert Peel, Alaina Wong, Jalini Kalaravy (Investment Banking)

 Sam Greatrex, Alan Geeves, James Waterlow, William Gumpel (Sales)

 Winterflood Securities Limited - Joint Corporate Broker             +44 (0)20 3100 0000

 Neil Morgan (Corporate Finance)

 Darren Willis, Andrew Marshall (Sales)

 TB Cardew - Public relations advisor to the Company                 +44 (0)20 7930 0777

 Ed Orlebar                                                          +44 (0)7738 724 630 / +44 (0)7425 536 903

 Tania Wild                                                          DORE@tbcardew.com (mailto:DORE@tbcardew.com)

 

About Downing Renewables & Infrastructure Trust plc (DORE)

 

DORE is a closed-end investment trust that aims to provide investors with an
attractive and sustainable level of income, with an element of capital growth,
by investing in a diversified portfolio of renewable energy and infrastructure
assets in the UK and Northern Europe. DORE has been awarded the London Stock
Exchange's Green Economy Mark in recognition of its contribution to the global
'Green Economy' and also in 2022 DORE won 'Renewables Fund of the Year' at the
Sustainable Investment Awards.

 

The Board classifies DORE as a sustainable fund with a core objective of
accelerating the transition to net zero through its investments, compiling and
operating a diversified portfolio of renewable energy and infrastructure
assets to help facilitate the transition to a more sustainable future. The
Company believes that this directly contributes to climate change mitigation.

 

DORE's strategy, which focuses on diversification by geography, technology,
revenue and project stage, is designed to increase the stability of revenues
and the consistency of income to shareholders. For further details please
visit www.doretrust.com (http://www.doretrust.com/)

 

LEI: 2138004JHBJ7RHDYDR62

 

About Downing LLP

 

Downing is a responsible investment manager established in London in 1986. We
currently manage £1.9 billion of assets under a broad range of investment
mandates across our funds, investment trusts and tax-efficient products. As a
certified B Corporation, we are focussed on creating a sustainable future, our
key investment areas are renewable energy, infrastructure, property and
healthcare.

 

Downing has c.60 professionals dedicated to renewable energy and
infrastructure and a proven track record in renewables. Since 2010, Downing
has made more than 180 investments in this sector, with over £850 million of
assets under management.

 

This announcement is not for publication or distribution, directly or
indirectly, in or into the United States of America. This announcement is not
an offer of securities for sale into the United States. The securities
referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S.
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the
United States, except pursuant to an applicable exemption from registration.
No public offering of securities is being made in the United States.

 

For further details please visit www.downing.co.uk
(http://www.downing.co.uk/)

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