RCS - NextEnergy Capital - NextPower UK ESG Reports Strong First Year Results

NextEnergy Solar FundAnnouncement

12/10/2023 08:15

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RNS Number : 8348P  NextEnergy Capital Limited  12 October 2023

 
 

London, October 12, 2023

 

NextPower UK ESG Reports Strong First Year Performance

 

·    Nine assets acquired totalling a capacity of 416MW

·    c.£600m in commitments secured from investors, exceeding £500m
target

·    10% net dividend distributed to investors for the 2022 financial year

NextEnergy Capital ("NEC"), the global solar specialist in the renewables
sector, is delighted to announce that NextPower UK ESG ("NPUK ESG"), its
private new-build UK solar strategy, has delivered exceptional progress and
financial results in its maiden year.  NPUK ESG achieved first close in
August 2022 and had further financial closes in the following nine months.

The success of NPUK ESG's first year is attributable to the swift deployment
of capital that generated attractive cashflows starting just seven weeks after
the fund's first close with the acquisition of two operational seed assets,
Llanwern, (South Wales, 75MW), and Strensham (Worcestershire, 40MW).  Since
then, NPUK ESG has gone on to successfully acquire a further seven utility
scale solar assets giving NPUK ESG a diversified portfolio of nine assets with
a capacity of 416MW.

The Fund's initial result is owed to the value delivered through its sourcing
strategy and strong operational asset performance.  The fund distributed a
net dividend of 10% twelve months after the Fund's first close.

NPUK ESG is on track to achieve or exceed its targeted return profile of an
unlevered 9-11% gross IRR with cash yields of 4-6%.  Once fully deployed
having constructed approximately 2GW in new solar generation capacity, NPUK
ESG will provide enough clean energy to power around 500,000 UK households or
offset nearly 200,000 carbon-emitting cars on the road each year, making a
significant ESG impact in the UK.

NPUK ESG currently has c.£600 million in commitments and continues to
actively fundraise with several investors currently in due diligence.

 

Michael Bonte-Friedheim, NextEnergy Group CEO and Founder, said:

"NextPower UK ESG continues to go from strength to strength having made
significant progress since its first close some 12 months ago.  The fund has
already allocated c.60% of its £595m committed capital, acquired 416MW across
nine UK solar assets, and made its first distribution of c.10% to investors.
The NextPower UK ESG team is making good progress on the construction of the
portfolio and the fund continues to attract interest from investors around the
world, with several in advanced due diligence with the next close scheduled
for the end of the year.

 

Our team continues to pursue further acquisition opportunities for NPUK ESG,
and we expect to continue our capital deployment progress rapidly.  One of
our key objectives is to rapidly build out new solar power generation capacity
in the UK, and we are on track to achieve that target.

 

NPUK ESG's success cements our Group's track record in securing particularly
attractive investment opportunities in the solar infrastructure sector and
delivering market-leading financial returns to our investors."

 

Further information:

 

NextPower UK ESG

NPUK is a 10-year closed-ended private fund managed by NextEnergy Capital.
It is a private unlevered Fund investing in new-build solar projects, backed
by PPAs, in the UK.

·    Launched in December 2021 targeting £500m, to invest into new-build
solar plants in the UK with contracted revenues.

·    The UK Infrastructure Bank has provided cornerstone match-funding
capital for up to £250m.

·    Offers investors the opportunity to earn attractive risk-adjusted
returns from solar PV infrastructure in the UK.

·    Fund returns are then enhanced through NextEnergy Capital's expertise
in technical outperformance, private wire agreements, repowering and storage
additionality

·    Benefits from access to the Fund's own secured and proprietary
pipeline

·    Real, measurable additionality ESG impacts, including biodiversity
measures and community engagement

 

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 375 individual solar plants
for a capacity in excess of 2.4GW across it institutional funds.
www.nextenergycapital.com (http://www.nextenergycapital.com)

 

·    First Fund: 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 £1,190m.  NESF is one of the largest listed solar and energy
storage investment companies in the world.

·    Second Fund: 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%.

·    Third Fund: 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 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.

·    Fourth Fund: NextPower UK ESG ("NPUK ESG"), is a private solar fund
focused on new-build solar plants in the UK, which, at hard cap, will produce
enough clean energy to power the equivalent of nearly 500,000 households or
offset nearly 200,000 carbon-emitting cars on the road each year.  NPUK has
to date raised c.£600m in commitments from investors.

·    Fifth Fund: NextPower V ESG ("NPV ESG"), 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
has to date raised $330m in commitments and $150m in co-investment allocations
and is targeting $1.5bn in size with a $2bn ceiling.

 

Further information on the NextEnergy Group is available at:
https://www.nextenergygroup.com/ (https://www.nextenergygroup.com/)

 

WiseEnergy®

WiseEnergy® 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 1,300 utility-scale solar power
plants with an installed capacity in excess of 1.6GW.  WiseEnergy clients
comprise leading banks and equity financiers in the energy and infrastructure
sector.

Further information on WiseEnergy® is available at: www.wise-energy.com
(http://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.

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