REG - NextEnergy Solar Fnd - Succession to Chairman of the Board

NextEnergy Solar FundAnnouncement

30/11/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 9836H  NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited  30 November 2022

LEI: 213800ZPHCBDDSQH5447

30 November 2022

 

 

NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited

 

("NESF" or the "Company")

 

Succession to Chairman of the Board

 

The Board of NESF is pleased to announce the appointment of Helen Mahy CBE to
the Board as a non-executive Director with effect from 1 April 2023.  Helen
will succeed Kevin Lyon as Chairman of NESF from the next AGM in August 2023.

 

Kevin has been Chairman of NESF since the Company's IPO in 2014, having played
a substantial role in the expansion and development of the Company. His fellow
Directors and the Company's Investment Adviser, would like to take this
opportunity to thank Kevin for his leadership and for the many contributions
he has made during his tenure.

 

Helen brings a depth of knowledge in relation to the energy sector to the
Company.  She recently retired as Chairman of The Renewables Infrastructure
Group (£3.27 billion market cap at 28 November 2022) and has valuable
experience in investor and stakeholder engagement from that role and others.

 

Helen currently sits as a non-executive Director of SSE plc and Gowling WLG
(UK) LLP, whilst also serving as a Commissioner for The Equality and Human
Rights Commission. Helen has previously served as Group General Counsel and
Company Secretary of the National Grid plc.

 

Kevin Lyon, Chairman of NESF, commented:

"We are absolutely delighted to welcome Helen to the Board.  We believe her
experience and long-standing commitment to the renewable energy sector will
allow her to bring a wealth of knowledge and insight to the Board and support
the Company's further expansion."

 

Helen Mahy CBE, said:

"I am very pleased to be joining the Board of NESF which will allow me to
continue to pursue my enthusiastic interest in renewables.  I am very much
looking forward to working with my Board and manager colleagues from April
2023."

 

Pursuant to Listing Rule 9.6.13 the following disclosure is made:

Helen is a non-executive Director of SSE plc and is Chairman of its Safety,
Sustainability, Health and Environment Advisory Committee.  There are no
further disclosures required pursuant to LRs 9.6.13 and 9.6.11.

 

 

 For further information:

 NextEnergy Capital Group                    020 3746 0700

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

                                             020 7653 4000

 RBC Capital Markets
 Matthew Coakes
 Kathryn Deegan

 Cenkos Securities                           020 7397 8900
 James King
 William Talkington

                                             020 3781 8334

 Camarco
 Owen Roberts
 Eddie Livingstone-Learmonth

                                             014 8174 2642

 Ocorian Administration (Guernsey) Limited
 Kevin Smith

 

Notes to Editors(1):

About NextEnergy Solar Fund

NESF is a specialist solar and energy storage climate impact fund.  The
Company is structured as a renewable energy investment company listed on the
premium segment of the London Stock Exchange that invests in utility-scale
solar power plants and energy storage.  The Company 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.

NESF currently has a diversified portfolio comprising of the following:

Solar PV:

·      99 operating solar assets across the UK and Italy (primarily on
agricultural, industrial, and commercial sites)

·      A 50MW co-investment into a Spanish solar project alongside
NextPower III ESG, currently under construction

·      A 210MW co-investment into a Portuguese solar project alongside
NextPower III ESG, currently under construction

·      A UK solar project under construction (Whitecross 36MW)

·      A ready-to-build UK solar project (Hatherden 50MW)

·      A $50m commitment into NextPower III ESG (a private solar
infrastructure fund providing exposure to both operating and under
construction, international solar assets)

 

Energy Storage:

Joint Venture Partnership with Eelpower:

·      A 50MW standalone battery storage project in Fife, Scotland,
currently under construction (part of a £300m joint venture with Eelpower)

·      A portfolio of 250MW pre-construction standalone battery storage
projects in the East of England

 

Co-located programme:

 

·      First site identified for a 6MW co-located battery storage
project at North Norfolk Solar Farm and discussions are ongoing with the local
distribution network operator to confirm an energisation date

 

The NESF portfolio has a combined installed power capacity of 865MW (excluding
NextPower III MW on an equivalent look-through basis).

As at 30 September 2022, the Company had an unaudited gross asset value of
£1,258m, being the aggregate of the net asset value of the ordinary shares,
the fair value of the preference shares and the amount of NESF Group debt
outstanding, and an unaudited net asset value of £725m.

NESF'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 solar energy and energy
storage infrastructure assets.  The majority of NESF's long-term cash flows
are inflation-linked via UK government subsidies.

For further information on NESF please visit www.nextenergysolarfund.com
(http://nextenergysolarfund.com/)

Commitment to ESG

NESF is committed to ESG principles and responsible investment which make a
meaningful contribution to reducing CO2 emissions through the generation of
clean solar power.  NESF will only select investments that meet the
requirements of NEC Group's Sustainable Investment Policy.  Based on this
policy, NESF benefits from NEC's rigorous ESG due diligence on each
investment.  NESF is committed to reporting on its ESG performance in
accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goals framework and the EU
Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation.

NESF has been awarded the London Stock Exchange's Green Economy Mark and has
been designated a Guernsey Green Fund by the Guernsey Financial Services
Commission.

Article 9

NESF is classified under Article 9 of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure
Regulation and EU Taxonomy Regulation.

NESF's sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector in
accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 can be accessed on the ESG section
of both the NESF website (nextenergysolarfund.com/esg/
(http://www.nextenergysolarfund.com/esg/) ) & NEC Group website
(nextenergycapital.com/sustainability/transparency-and-reporting/
(https://www.nextenergycapital.com/sustainability/transparency-and-reporting/)
).

About NextEnergy Group

NESF 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

NextEnergy Capital comprises the Group's investment management activities.
To date, NEC has invested in over 350 individual solar plants for a capacity
in excess of 2.4GW across it institutional funds.  www.nextenergycapital.com
(http://www.nextenergycapital.com/)

 ●    NextEnergy Solar Fund ("NESF") is a specialist solar and energy storage
      climate impact 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 £1,258m.  NESF is one of the largest listed solar and
      energy storage investment companies in the world.
 ●    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%.
 ●    NextPower III ESG ("NPIII") 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.
 ●    NextPower UK ESG ("NPUK") is a private unlevered fund investing in greenfield
      subsidy-free solar projects, with PPA's, in the UK.  NPUK ESG recently
      announced its first close at £327 million, which is over 65% of the funds
      target of £500 million.  The UK Infrastructure Bank is the cornerstone
      investor for the fund and plans to invest up to £250 million on a match
      funding basis.

 

WiseEnergy

WiseEnergy® is NextEnergy Capital 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 1.7GW.  WiseEnergy
clients comprise leading banks and equity financiers in the energy and
infrastructure sector.

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.8.3GW
of both green and brownfield project developments across global geographies.

 Notes:

(1:) All financial data is unaudited at 30 September 2022, being the latest
date in respect of which NESF has published financial information

 

 

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