TIDMNESF
RNS Number : 4517F
NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited
07 November 2022
LEI: 213800ZPHCBDDSQH5447
7 November 2022
NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited
("NESF" or the "Company")
Publication of First Standalone Sustainability Report
NextEnergy Solar Fund, the specialist solar and energy storage
climate impact fund with a combined installed power capacity of
865MW, is pleased to announce it has today published its first
in-depth standalone sustainability report.
The report goes beyond the Company's immediate sustainability
obligations by providing in-depth details on the Company's
sustainability journey, its proprietary approach to biodiversity,
and its industry leading ESG initiatives, that deliver a real
environmental and social impact. The report covers the Company's
ESG performance over the financial year 2021/22 whilst articulating
how the Company builds its sustainability strategy around the three
pillars of NextEnergy Solar Fund's Sustainability Framework, which
are material to the Company's Environmental, Social, and Governance
("ESG") approach. These three pillars are:
-- Climate change
-- Biodiversity
-- Human rights
The report shares many detailed case studies of NESF's industry
leading approach, including seizing the opportunity to lead on
biodiversity by supporting the Global Goal for Nature's targets of
"nature-positive by 2030", and "nature-recovery by 2050." Also,
playing a key role in improving human rights through the solar
supply chain with the launch of the Solar Stewardship Initiative,
with Giulia Guidi, Head of ESG at NextEnergy Capital, contributing
her extensive ESG knowledge in this industry wide project to
develop confidence in how, where, and by whom, solar products are
manufactured.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals ("SDGs") act as
reference points for NESF's progress against the Company's
high-level ESG goals and also inform the Company's high-level
decisions. NESF's sustainability report summarises the Company's
alignment with those SDGs that are most relevant to it and thereby
acknowledges the direct and indirect impacts the Company has within
the environment and communities it operates in, alongside measuring
those impacts where possible.
This report enhances NESF's transparency by explaining how the
Company approaches ESG and how its sustainable performance
indicators are reported, capturing each aspect of "E", "S" and "G",
including climate change, water, circular economy, community
impact, supply chain, and biodiversity. For climate-related
metrics, NESF uses the Green Investment Group's Green Analytics
team to independently calculate the CO (2e) emissions avoided of
the portfolio. This ensures a high standard of delivery,
transparency and continuity in relation to its positive
contribution to climate change mitigation. As a result, NESF is
able to quantify the substantive positive impact generated by its
operating activities.
NESF is committed to continuously improve the accuracy, scope
and transparency of its ESG and sustainability reporting. The full
NextEnergy Solar Fund Sustainability Report can be found on the
Company's website here:
https://www.nextenergysolarfund.com/esg/transparency-and-reporting/
Kevin Lyon, Chairman of NextEnergy Solar Fund commented:
"We believe that a rigorous approach to ESG, combined with a
team that is genuinely passionate about generating a more
sustainable future, provides intrinsic value to NESF shareholders
beyond financial returns. We always strive for excellence in both
our underlying asset performance and our reporting. The fund
classifies as Article 9 under the SFDR regulation and has already
disclosed according to these obligations. NESF's first standalone
and industry-leading sustainability report, led by Josephine Bush,
Chair of the ESG committee, and Giulia Guidi, Head of ESG at
NextEnergy Capital, is part of our progressive environmental,
social and governance strategy to increase transparency and drive
forward our ambitious best practice reporting to exceed stakeholder
and market expectations."
Michael Bonte-Friedheim, CEO of NextEnergy Group said:
"NESF's first in-depth standalone sustainability report is the
result of the continued hard work and commitment in integrating ESG
principles and actions into the heart of NESF. By identifying,
aligning and measuring, NESF's sustainability framework does not
only show the progress made during the period, but also identifies
and reduces risk within NESF, making its strategy more sustainable.
I would like to thank the entire team for the tremendous amount of
work and detail that went into the first Sustainability Report and
for continuing to implement NESF's ESG principles, at every level
of the fund, which are delivering a demonstrable positive
impact."
For further information:
NextEnergy Capital Group 020 3746 0700
Michael Bonte-Friedheim ir@nextenergysolarfund.com
Aldo Beolchini
Ross Grier
Peter Hamid (Investor Relations)
RBC Capital Markets 020 7653 4000
Matthew Coakes
Kathryn Deegan
Cenkos Securities 020 7397 8900
James King
William Talkington
Camarco 020 3781 8334
Owen Roberts
Eddie Livingstone-Learmonth
Ocorian Administration (Guernsey) Limited 014 8174 2642
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:
-- 100 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 GBP300m 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
The NESF portfolio has a combined installed power capacity of
865MW (excluding NextPower III MW on an equivalent look-through
basis).
As at 30 June 2022, the Company had an unaudited gross asset
value of GBP1,198m, 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 GBP717.2m.
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
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/ ) & NEC Group website (
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
-- 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 an unaudited gross asset value of GBP1,198m.
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") 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 GBP327 million,
which is over 65% of the funds target of GBP500 million. The UK
Infrastructure Bank is the cornerstone investor for the fund and
plans to invest up to GBP250 million on a match funding basis.
WiseEnergy
WiseEnergy(R) 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 1,350 utility-scale solar power plants with an
installed capacity in excess of 1.8GW. 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.10GW of both green and brownfield
project developments across global geographies.
Notes:
(1:) All financial data is unaudited at 30 June 2022, being the
latest date in respect of which NESF has published financial
information
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