NextPower III ESG Update: 200MW Acquisition in USA & 1GW Capacity Milestone Reached

London, June 28, 2022 – NextPower III ESG (“NPIII ESG”), the international private solar fund managed by NextEnergy Capital (“NEC”), is pleased to announce the acquisition of two 100MW solar projects in Lake Placid, Florida.
This marks NPIII ESG’s fourth acquisition in the USA, taking the fund’s total capacity in the USA to 397MW.  The two 100MW solar projects will benefit from long-term Power Purchase Agreements (“PPAs”) for 100% of their generation, currently under negotiation for 10 years.

Following this acquisition, NPIII ESG’s portfolio capacity increases to over 1GW across the USA, Chile, Spain, Portugal, Poland and India, demonstrating NextEnergy Capital’s ability and skill to identify and acquire attractive investment opportunities in carefully selected geographies.

NPIII ESG currently has an additional 300MW under exclusivity across Spain, Poland, and Portugal, which are expected to close in third quarter of 2022.

NPIII completed its fundraising period in January of this year, when it closed at $896 million including a SMA, versus a target of $750 million.  The fund’s investor base comprises leading institutional investors in Europe, the Americas and the UK.

NPIII ESG is a fund that provides a positive social and environmental impact in the countries and local communities it has and will invest into.  When NPIII is fully invested across an installed capacity of circa 2GW, it can expect to deliver an impact of estimated annual avoided emissions of circa 2 million tCO2e each year, which on a conservative basis is the equivalent to providing energy for more than circa 1.3 million homes per year.

Aldo Beolchini, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer, NextEnergy Capital, commented:

“By surpassing 1GW in capacity, this acquisition marks a milestone moment for NPIII ESG.  NPIII ESG continues to perform strongly and capitalise on the team’s in-depth international experience.  I am excited to announce the progress of the fund as it continues to reach further key achievements.”

Filinto Martins, Managing Director and Head of NextPower III, said:

“I am very pleased that the fund continues to go from strength to strength; we have now doubled our MW capacity in the US and reached 1GW of capacity across the portfolio.  We are continuing to pursue attractive opportunities in the international market, particularly with a focus in Spain, Poland and Portugal, where we have 300MW under exclusivity.”


About NextPower III ESG (“NPIII 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 ESG 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 a SMA raised.  The target of the fund was $750m.

NPIII has a significant portfolio of further acquisition targets; there are currently five portfolios under exclusivity for an installed capacity of 300MW and a further 2GW of pipeline under assessment.  The investment team continues to focus its efforts on expanding the portfolio, having to date reviewed over 35GW of solar projects in the selected geographies.

The Fund continues to enjoy significant momentum across its planned acquisition pipeline.

 

About NextEnergy Group

NextPower III ESG 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 325 individual solar plants for a capacity in excess of 2.3GW across it institutional funds.
www.nextenergycapital.com/

  • NextEnergy Solar Fund (“NESF”) is a solar infrastructure investment company focused on the UK and other OECD countries, which is listed on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange. It currently owns 865MW spread among 100 individual operating assets in the UK and Italy, comprising a gross asset value of £1,150m.  NESF is one of the largest listed solar energy 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 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.
  • NextPower UK ESG (“NPUK ESG”) is a private unlevered fund investing in greenfield subsidy-free solar projects, with PPA’s, in the UK. NPUK ESG was launched in December 2021.  The UK Infrastructure Bank is providing financing to the initial seed assets of the fund, and plans to invest up to £250m, half of the fund’s total target fund size, 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/

 

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.5GW of both green and brownfield project developments across global geographies.

 

For further information:
NextEnergy Capital Limited +44 (0) 203 746 0700
Michael Bonte-Friedheim
Aldo Beolchini
Peter Hamid (IR/PR)

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