Renewables manager NextEnergy Capital, which specialises in the solar-plus infrastructure sector, has announced NextPower UK ESG (NPUK) has energised the 24MW Pentlow site in Essex, England.
The PV array is its third utility-scale solar asset and increases NPUK’s operating capacity to 139MW.
NPUK has a diversified portfolio of 10 UK utility-scale solar assets with a capacity of 497MW. It said its success is in part attributable to the swift deployment of capital which started just seven weeks after the fund’s first close with the acquisition of two operational seed assets – 75MW Llanwern in South Wales, and 40MW Strensham in Worcestershire.
The remaining assets in the portfolio are either in construction or ready-to-build, with the fund most recently signing an EPC contract on its tenth acquisition, the 60MW Hatherden solar and energy storage project in Hampshire, which has started construction.
Operational and construction assets in the portfolio now stand in excess of 75% of NPUK’s total capacity with the fund remaining on track to outperform its return and dividend targets, with dividends to date being significantly above the target.
Once fully deployed at approximately 2GW/capacity, NPUK said it will provide enough clean energy to power around 500,000 households per year, making a significant ESG impact in the UK.
The fund said it continues to actively fundraise towards its hard cap of £1bn having successfully secured total funds committed to date of £625m, 25% above its target of £500m. It has several investors currently in late-stage due diligence with further capital expected to be closed in the following weeks, it added.
NPUK is a private UK solar fund that focuses on acquiring utility-scale solar and battery storage assets at the ready-to-build stage, constructing them through energisation in order to build a large operating portfolio of solar and storage sites.
Once the plants are operational, NPUK said it monetises its power sales through a fully contracted strategy which takes a hands-on approach to risk mitigation and value creation while optimising assets over the fund’s life.
Since its launch in August 2022, NPUK has already been able to make two distribution payments to its investor base alongside reporting impressive Net Asset Value growth, it added.
“I am delighted that the NPUK portfolio continues to deliver solid progress, Pentlow is a fantastic asset that has been energised on time to become the Fund’s third operating solar asset,” said NextEnergy Group chief executive and founder Michael Bonte-Friedheim.
“The UK currently has around 16GW of operational utility-scale solar deployed of which NextEnergy Capital Funds account for over 1GW.
“I look forward to seeing further progress across the portfolio as NPUK’s other assets continue on their journey to energisation and become a significant part of the UK’s clean energy mix.”
Chief operating officer and head of UK investments at NextEnergy Capital Ross Grier added:
“NPUK’s portfolio now hasin excess of 75% of its total capacity of 497MW in either operational or construction phase, this is a huge achievement for a Fund which started its life less than two years ago.
“This further demonstrates the strength and skill set of the team driving NPUK forward as the Fund continues to deploy investor capital at pace and bring new high-quality assets online whilst paying attractive annual distributions to investors.”