REG - NextEnergy Solar Fnd - 260MW International Solar Co-Investments Energised

NextEnergy Solar FundAnnouncement

15/03/2024 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20240315:nRSO9585Ga&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 9585G  NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited  15 March 2024

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                          020 3746 0700

 Michael Bonte-Friedheim                     ir@nextenergysolarfund.com
 Ross Grier
 Stephen Rosser
 Peter Hamid (Investor Relations)

                                             020 7653 4000

 RBC Capital Markets
 Matthew Coakes
 Elizabeth Evans

 Kathryn Deegan

 Cavendish                                   020 7397 1909
 James King
 William Talkington

                                             020 7379 5151

 H/Advisors Maitland
 Neil Bennett
 Finlay Donaldson

                                             01481 742642

 Ocorian Administration (Guernsey) Limited
 Kevin Smith

 

 

Notes to Editors(1):

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
(http://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 (http://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 (http://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

 

 

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  UPDJIMBTMTBBTAI