REG - US Solar Fund PLC US Solar Fund - USFP - NEW RENEWABLE ENERGY CERTIFICATE CONTRACTS SIGNED

Us Solar FundAnnouncement

18/12/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 0369X  US Solar Fund PLC  18 December 2023

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18 December 2023

US SOLAR FUND PLC (USF, the "Company")

 NEW RENEWABLE ENERGY CERTIFICATE CONTRACTS SIGNED

 

US Solar Fund plc (LON: USF (USD)/USFP (GBP)) is pleased to announce that six
of USF's Oregon projects have signed new long-term contracts to sell Renewable
Energy Certificates (RECs). The REC contracts and revised estimates of future
REC prices are expected to result in a NAV increase of approximately $7.6
million based on the 30 September NAV ($286.3 million) and contribute to
additional operational cash dividend coverage from 2024 onwards.

Renewable Energy Certificates are awarded to generators of renewable energy
and are tradeable financial instruments. The award of RECs to incentivise
renewable power generation in the US has increased in recent years as states
seek to meet their renewable energy objectives. The new REC contracts will
commence in January 2024, following the expiry of existing contracts in
December 2023 and will expire in 2031/32.  The offtaker is 3Degrees, a
leading global provider of climate solutions who will pay a fixed price per
REC for the duration of the contracts.

The revenues resulting from the new REC contracts exceed the assumptions made
for income from REC's for these assets in the Company's current NAV,
reflecting a trend for increasing REC prices in Oregon and across the US. The
relevant projects are Chiloquin, Turkey Hill, Merrill, Lakeview, Dairy and
Tumbleweed, which represent in aggregate 79.4MW of generation.

The new REC contracts will be included in USF's NAV as at 31 December 2023
when the Company's Solar Power Assets are next valued by an independent
third-party appraiser 1  (#_ftn1) . In line with the strategy of the manager,
Amber Infrastructure Investment Advisor LLC ('Amber'), Amber will continually
appraise opportunities for recontracting RECs, entering into accretive power
purchase agreements and securing new credits or grants attributable to
renewable power generation in the US on behalf of the Company.

Tom O'Shaughnessy, Head of North America at Amber, US Solar Fund's Manager,
said:

"US state-level policies are mandating increasing levels of renewables output
and driving rising renewable power prices, particularly from operational solar
assets. These supportive long-term trends underpin US Solar Fund's portfolio
with favourable income characteristics and a more stable outlook for the asset
class.

"Those characteristics are evidenced in the higher prices for the recontracted
RECs we have announced today. Our active approach to capitalise on these
trends means we see more opportunities to create value in the portfolio, and
we look forward to keeping shareholders updated."

 

 

For further information, please contact:

 US Solar Fund                           +44 20 7939 0550

 Meredith Frost (Amber Infrastructure)

 Cavendish Securities Plc                +44 20 7397 8900

 Tunga Chigovanyika

 James King

 Will Talkington

 Jefferies International Limited         +44 20 7029 8000

 Stuart Klein

 Gaudi Le Roux

 KL Communications                       +44 20 3995 6673
 Charles Gorman

 Charlotte Francis

 Patrick Lodge

 

About US Solar Fund plc

US Solar Fund plc, established in 2019, listed on the premium segment of the
London Stock Exchange in April 2019. The Company's investment objective is to
provide investors with attractive and sustainable dividends with an element of
capital growth by owning and operating solar power assets in North America and
other OECD countries in the Americas.

The solar power assets that the Company acquires or constructs are expected to
have an asset life of at least 30 years and generate stable and uncorrelated
cashflows by selling electricity to creditworthy offtakers under long-term
power purchase agreements (or PPAs). The Company's portfolio currently
consists of 41 operational solar projects with a total capacity of 443MW(DC),
all located in the United States.

Further information on the Company can be found on its website
at http://www.ussolarfund.co.uk (http://www.ussolarfund.co.uk/) .

 

About Amber Infrastructure Group

Amber Infrastructure is an international infrastructure specialist, focused on
investment origination, development, asset management and in Europe, fund
management. Amber's core business focuses on infrastructure assets across the
public, transport, energy, digital and demographic infrastructure sectors that
support the lives of people, homes and businesses internationally.

Among other funds, Amber Infrastructure advises International Public
Partnerships, a FTSE 250-listed company with a market cap of
approximately £2.5 billion and 15-year track record of long-term investment
in infrastructure assets globally. Amber is headquartered in London with
offices in Europe, North America and Australia and employs over 180
infrastructure professionals. Amber has had a strategic partnership with
the Hunt Group of Companies in the US since 2015. Learn more
at www.amberinfrastructure.com (http://www.amberinfrastructure.com/) .

 

 

 1  (#_ftnref1) Fair value and NAV movements at 31 December 2023 may be more
or less than $7.6 million depending on the impact of tax, working capital, and
other adjustments applied on that valuation date.

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