RNEP Ecofin U.s. Renewables Infrastructure Trust Plc

TIDMRNEW

RNS Number : 2050S

Ecofin US Renewables Infrastr.Trust

02 November 2023

2 November 2023

ECOFIN U.S. RENEWABLES INFRASTRUCTURE TRUST PLC

(the "Company")

Q3 2023 Operational Update and Net Asset Value

Ecofin U.S. Renewables Infrastructure Trust PLC today announces an update on portfolio operations and its unaudited net asset value ("NAV") as at 30 September 2023.

Quarterly Operational Update

-- The Company's portfolio generated 52.1 GWh of clean electricity, equivalent to powering c.19,300 households, during the three months of Q3 2023 from a fully-contracted portfolio of diversified assets with investment-grade equivalent off-takers and a weighted average remaining PPA term of 13.9 years (18.6 years excluding Whirlwind).

-- Progress continues in completing commissioning and financing of the Echo Solar Portfolio, a 36.0 MWdc commercial solar portfolio in Minnesota, Virginia and Delaware, including the completion of several tax equity milestone fundings during the quarter and the close of a back-leverage debt facility with Fifth Third Bank on 31 October 2023. Currently, three projects have achieved commercial operation, and the three remaining projects are mechanically complete and are being commissioned for commercial operation during Q4 2023.

-- As announced on 27 July and 2 August 2023, the Investment Manager continues to work closely with Whirlwind's asset and operations managers, AEP (the owner of the Matador substation) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) authorities to resume operations at its 59.8 MW Whirlwind asset which has been out of service since a tornado on 21 June 2023 destroyed the Matador substation through which it transmits electricity.

o An updated interconnection agreement has been executed with AEP, which allows the project to operate and dispatch power through an alternative substation in Paducah, TX at up to 50 MW of capacity during which time AEP will rebuild the Matador substation;

o The Company expects the temporary interconnection through Paducah to be established by the end of November 2023;

o The Company has actively pursued business interruption insurance in order to recoup lost revenue during the downtime since the 21 June 2023 incident and tentatively expects proceeds to be paid before the end of Q4 2023;

o The estimated impact of these arrangements has been reflected in the Company's unaudited NAV as at 30 September 2023.

Q3 2023 NAV

The Company announces that its unaudited NAV as at 30 September 2023 on a cum-income basis was $0.8910 per Ordinary Share (30 June 2023: $0.9180) or $123.0 million (30 June 2023: $126.8 million).

The key contributors to the changes in NAV were:

-- a $6.1 million increase ($0.0442 per Ordinary Share) due to updates to various assumptions including the useful life of certain projects (Beacon 2 & 5 and the SED Solar portfolio) and O&M and insurance expenses across the portfolio;

-- a $2.7 million decrease ($0.0198 per Ordinary Share) due to the conversion to a third-party consultant's merchant energy price forecast (from EIA);

-- a $6.2 million decrease ($0.0446 per Ordinary Share) due to an increase of approximately 34 bps in the portfolio's weighted average unlevered pre-tax discount rate to 7.4% as at 30 September, as advised by the Company's independent third-party valuation services provider, Marshall & Stevens;

-- a $1.6 million decrease ($0.0151 per Ordinary Share) in cash and accrued financial assets as quarterly income did not cover operating expenses, financing costs and dividend payments, primarily driven by lack of revenue at Whirlwind and high corrective O&M costs at several solar sites, and increased insurance premiums across the portfolio; and

-- a $0.6 million increase ($0.0042 per Ordinary Share) due to a decrease in the deferred tax accrual, largely driven by the decrease to FMV of investments.

As part of the Strategic Review announced on 8 September 2023, the Company has engaged several third-party consultants and independent engineers to evaluate potential value-enhancing capital opportunities. Subsequent to the reporting period, the Company received preliminary findings from a congestion study of the ERCOT zone, which is anticipated to positively impact the future valuation of the Whirlwind project based on an outlook of reduced curtailment events impacting the project. This outlook is largely driven by significant expected load increases in the ERCOT west zone from crypto-mining and oil & gas drilling activity, limited new wind projects expected to come into the market in the ERCOT west zone, and a large volume of production tax credits (PTCs) existing wind projects between 2024 and 2029.

For further information, please contact:

 
 Ecofin Advisors, LLC (Investment Manager) 
  Edward Russell 
  Eileen Fargis 
  Jason Benson 
  Michael Hart                                     +1 913 981 1020 
 Peel Hunt LLP (Joint Corporate Broker) 
  Liz Yong 
  Luke Simpson 
  Huw Jeremy                                      +44 20 7418 8900 
 Stifel (Joint Corporate Broker) 
  Edward Gibson-Watt 
  Rajpal Padam 
  Madison Kominski                                +44 20 7710 7600 
 
   Apex Listed Companies Services (UK) Limited 
   (Company Secretary) 
   Martin Darragh 
   Maria Matheou                                  +44 20 3327 9720 
 

Further information on the Company can be found on its website at https://uk.ecofininvest.com/funds/us-renewables-infrastructure-trust-plc/ .

The Company's LEI is 2138004JUQUL9VKQWD21.

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