VH
GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE ENERGY OPPORTUNITIES PLC
31
October 2024
Commissioning of two hybrid
solar and battery storage projects in Australia
VH Global Sustainable Energy
Opportunities plc (the "Company" or "GSEO") is pleased to announce
that it has completed the construction and commissioning of two
solar and storage hybrid systems in Australia. The assets comprise
solar PV sites with DC-coupled two-hour 4.95MW battery energy
storage systems ("BESS") situated in New South Wales. Following the
completion of these two sites, the operational portion of the
Company's portfolio has risen to 67%, up from 61% as of 30 June
2024.
A third hybrid asset is expected to
become operational in Q4 2024 and, upon completion, GSEO's
Australian energy transition programme (the "Australian Programme")
will consist of five operational assets with a further two under
construction.
The Australian Programme was
announced in August 2021 with an initial commitment of GBP 50
million invested across five assets. This commitment was expanded
to GBP 58.5 million with the acquisition of two additional solar
and storage hybrid assets announced earlier this year. Once
complete, the total capacity of the Australian Programme will be
37MW/60MWh, across seven assets in New South Wales, Queensland and
South Australia.
Hybridisation is one of the key
strategies in the Australian Programme. The coupling of solar
PV with BESS technologies provides the Australian energy system
with much-needed grid stability and an effective storage
solution. GSEO expects to gain access to additional energy
arbitrage and frequency stability services revenue streams from the
co-located BESS on site.
Birdwood Energy serves as our local
operating partner for the Australian Programme. Birdwood Energy is
an Australian specialist developer and manager in the renewable
sector, with more than 25 years' experience in battery storage and
renewable power generation development and operation.
Richard Lum, Co-CIO of Victory Hill
Capital Partners commented:
"We had set expectations earlier
this year that further positive news would be forthcoming on GSEO's
Australian distributed solar and BESS programme before the end of
2024. We are therefore delighted to announce the operational status
of the latest two hybridised assets in New South Wales. This
reflects the dedication of both the Victory Hill team and our
operating partner in Australia, Birdwood Energy, in implementing
this programme on time and on budget. The opportunity set to enable
the energy transition to net zero in Australia is significant and
we believe will be remunerative for investors. These assets will
help us achieve our twin objectives of accessing differentiated
returns for shareholders via participating in the traded energy
market in Australia in a risk adjusted way, as well as facilitating
the energy transition in the country. We firmly believe Australia
will continue to offer our investors a means to gain access to
interesting private market sustainable energy opportunities in the
medium to longer term."
GSEO continues to support the global
energy transition, with its investors benefiting from NAV growth
and a progressive income stream since launch in 2021. The Company
targets a total unlevered NAV return of 10%, net of fees, and a
progressive annual dividend per share, covered 1.1x as of 30 June
2024, paid quarterly (currently targeting 5.68p for the year ending
31 December 2024).
As further projects achieve
operational status, the dividend coverage is expected to strengthen
further.
www.vh-gseo.com
The Company's LEI is
213800RFHAOF372UU580.
For further information:
Edelman Smithfield (PR
Adviser)
Ged
Brumby
+ 44 (0)7540 412 301
Hamza Ali
+ 44 (0)7976
308914
Victory Hill Capital Partners LLP
(Investment Manager)
Navin
Chauhan
info@victory-hill.com
Deutsche Numis (Corporate
Broker)
David
Benda
+44 (0)20 7260 1000
Matt Goss
Apex Fund and Corporate Services
(UK) Limited (Company Secretary)
ukfundscosec@apexgroup.com
About Victory Hill Capital Partners LLP
Victory Hill Capital Partners LLP
("Victory Hill") is authorised and regulated by the Financial
Conduct Authority (FRN
961570).
Victory Hill is based in London and
was founded in May 2020 by an experienced team of energy financiers
that spun-out of a large established global project finance banking
group. The team has participated in more than $200bn in transaction
values across 91 conventional and renewable energy-related
transactions in over 30 jurisdictions worldwide. Victory Hill is
the investment manager of the Company.
The Victory Hill team deploys its
experience across different financial disciplines in order to
assess investments holistically from multiple points of view. The
firm pursues operational stability and well-designed corporate
governance to generate sustainable positive returns for investors.
It focuses on supporting and accelerating the energy transition and
the attainment of the UN sustainable development goals.
Victory Hill is a signatory of the
United Nations Principles for Responsible Investing (UN PRI), the
United Nations Global Compact (UN GC), Net Zero Asset Managers
Initiative (NZAMI), a member of the Global Impact Investing Network
(GIIN) and is a formal supporter of the Financial Stability Board's
Task-Force on Climate-related Disclosures (TCFD).