25 February 2025
The Renewables Infrastructure Group
Limited
"TRIG" or "the Company", a
London-listed investment company advised by InfraRed Capital
Partners ("InfraRed") as Investment Manager and Renewable Energy
Systems ("RES") as Operations Manager.
Announcement of 2024 Annual
Results
TRIG announces its Annual Results
for the Company for the year ended 31 December 2024. The Annual
Report and Accounts are available on the Company's website:
www.trig-ltd.com
Highlights
For the year ended 31 December
2024
Resilient underlying performance;
decrease in portfolio valuation driven by externalities
- Robust
pro-forma portfolio EBITDA of £493m1 (2023: £610m),
reflecting more normalised power price levels in GB and Europe
compared to highs of 2022 / 2023.
- Healthy
cash flow generation despite third-party transmission-related
outages, with gross cash cover of 2.1x (2023: 2.8x) and net
dividend cover of 1.0x (2023:1.6x), after the repayment of £206m
project level debt.
- 11.8p
reduction in NAV per share2 to 115.9p (31 December 2023:
127.7p) driven by a reduction in power price forecasts, adjustments
to operational assumptions, the impact of third-party grid outages
and higher valuation discount rates.
- The
weighted average Portfolio Valuation3 discount rate as
at 31 December 2024 has increased to 8.6% (31 December 2023: 8.1%),
largely reflecting higher return rates in the UK and changes in
portfolio mix.
Capital allocation priorities remain
balance sheet management and cash returns for
shareholders
- Sale of
four windfarms: Little Raith, Forss, Pallas and partial stake in
Gode 1 for a total £185m, at an average premium of
>10%.
- Overall
gearing reduced by £340m (following post
year end completion of the Gode disposal)4, with
project-level gearing of 37% (31 December 2024:
37%). Project-level debt is fixed rate and is scheduled to be systematically repaid within the term of
contracts with fixed revenue per unit generation.
-
Share buyback programme tripled from £50m to
£150m, representing approximately 8% of TRIG's shares in issue
based on the share price as at 21 February 2025. 36m shares bought
back to date for a total consideration of £33m.
-
2025 dividend target5 set at
7.55p/share, a 1.1% increase on 2024's achieved dividend of
7.47p/share.
Inherent value with clear
visibility
- High
levels of cashflow visibility, with 80% of projected revenues in
2025 at a fixed price per unit of generation and 60% of forecast
revenues over the next 10 years directly linked to inflation
indices.
- Over £300m
of further divestments and financings being progressed to fund the
expanded buyback programme, reduce floating-rate debt and meet
investment commitments.
- The
current share price implies a 10% dividend yield5 and a
base case annualised return of 12%, providing a 7% and 9% equity
risk premium as compared to UK and European risk-free rates,
respectively
Richard Morse, Chairman of TRIG,
said:
"Against a challenging operational
and market backdrop, the Company's diversified portfolio has
delivered healthy cashflow generation, enabling the continued
reduction of portfolio debt, the share buyback programme and
increasing dividends to shareholders. In addition to the accretive
sales the Company has already announced, the Manager is pursuing
further asset sales and financings in 2025 in order to reduce
short-term debt further and fund the tripling of the Company's
share buyback programme.
The Board is highly cognisant of the
challenging market backdrop for the Company's shareholders, and it
is our priority to execute the Company's capital allocation
priorities to drive greater shareholder returns. In this spirit, we
have also reached an agreement with the Company's Managers to
change the basis of the management remuneration to one that secures
better value and that is also appropriate for the long-term success
of the Company."
1
The unaudited EBITDA figures presented are based
upon the aggregation of SPV-level revenues and operating costs
measured on a consistent basis across regions.
2
The NAV per share as at 31 December 2024 is
calculated on the basis of the 2,463,893,326 Ordinary Shares in
issue as at 31 December 2024 (see Note 11 of TRIG's 2024 Annual
Report) plus a further 881,732 Ordinary shares to be issued to the
Managers in relation to part payment of the Managers fee for H2
2024 (see Note 17 of TRIG's 2024 Annual Report).
3 On an Expanded basis.
Please refer to the Financial Review section of TRIG's 2024 Annual
Report for an explanation of the Expanded basis.
4. Includes repayments of
project-level debt of £206m (2023: £219m) and £55m (2023: £34m) of
revolving credit facility drawings during the year. Additionally,
£85m of value has been achieved from the part disposal of Gode
which exchanged in 2024, with a completion notice issued in
February 2025 and cash proceeds due to be received on 5 March 2025.
Once received, cash proceeds from the part sale of Gode will be
available to further reduce RCF drawings.
5 This is a target only
and not a profit forecast. There can be no assurance that this
target will be met.
Enquiries
InfraRed Capital Partners
Limited
+44 (0) 20 7484 1800
Minesh Shah
Phil George
Mohammed Zaheer
Brunswick
+44 (0) 20 7404 5959 / TRIG@brunswickgroup.com
Mara James
Investec Bank
Plc
+44 (0) 20 7597 4000
Lucy Lewis
Tom Skinner
BNP
Paribas
+44 (0) 20 7595 9444
Virginia Khoo
Carwyn Evans
Notes
The Company
The Renewables Infrastructure Group
("TRIG" or the "Company") is a leading London-listed renewable
energy infrastructure investment company. The Company seeks to
provide shareholders with an attractive long-term, income-based
return with a positive correlation to inflation by focusing on
strong cash generation across a diversified portfolio of
predominantly operating projects.
TRIG is invested in a portfolio of
wind, solar and battery storage projects across six markets in
Europe with aggregate net generating capacity of 2.7GW; enough
renewable power for 1.8 million homes and to avoid 2.2 million
tonnes of carbon emissions per annum.
Further details can be found on
TRIG's website at www.trig-ltd.com.
Investment Manager
InfraRed Capital Partners is an
international infrastructure asset manager, with more than 160
professionals operating worldwide from offices in London, Madrid,
New York, Sydney and Seoul. Over the past 25 years, InfraRed has
established itself as a highly successful developer and steward of
infrastructure assets that play a vital role in supporting
communities. InfraRed manages US$13bn of equity capital1
for investors around the globe, in listed and private funds across
both core and value-add strategies.
InfraRed is part of SLC Management,
the institutional alternatives and traditional asset management
business of Sun Life.
For more information, please
visit www.ircp.com.
1 Uses 5-year average FX as at 30th June 2024 of GBP/USD of
1.2821; EUR/USD 1.1141. EUM is USD 12.741m.
Operations Manager
TRIG's Operations Manager is RES
("Renewable Energy Systems"). RES is the world's largest
independent renewable energy company, working across 24 countries
and active in wind, solar, energy storage, biomass, hydro, green
hydrogen, transmission, and distribution. An industry innovator for
over 40 years, RES has delivered more than 24GW of renewable energy
projects across the globe and plans to bring more than 22GW of new
capacity online in the next five years.
As a service provider, RES has the
skills and experience in asset management, operations and
maintenance (O&M), and spare parts - supporting 41GW of
renewable assets across 1,300 sites. RES brings to the market a
range of purposeful, practical technology-based products and
digital solutions designed to maximise investment and deployment of
renewable energy. RES is the power behind a clean energy future
where everyone has access to affordable zero carbon energy bringing
together global experience, passion, and the innovation of its
4,500 people to transform the way energy is generated, stored and
supplied.
Further details can be found on the
website at www.res-group.com.
Chair's Statement
TRIG has continued to make
meaningful progress on its strategic aims despite macroeconomic
headwinds. The Company's prudent capital structure provides a
strong foundation to finance our growth opportunities and offer a
compelling financial return proposition.
The Company delivered on its 2024
capital allocation priorities, including payment of £184m to
shareholders in dividends, commencement of a £50m share buyback
programme, reduction of debt across the group by £340m (following
completion of the post year-end Gode disposal)1 and
reinvestment of £48m. The underlying performance and cash
generation of TRIG has been robust; however, the performance of
TRIG's share price over the past year has been
disappointing.
Much of the share price movement has
been driven by macroeconomic and political factors. Nonetheless,
the Board recognises the need to continue action in respect of that
which is within the Company's control. As announced on 11 February
2025:
· The
Board is increasing the dividend target to 7.55p per share for
2025. This takes the total increase in the Company's dividend over
the past three years to over 10%.
· The
Board is increasing the scale and pace of the Company's share
buyback programme from £50m to £150m.
· The
Managers have delivered c.£210mdisposals over the past 24 months at
an average 11% premium to carrying value. The Board is pleased to
report that the Managers are progressing a further £300m of
disposals and financings to take advantage of the disconnect
between private and listed investment markets, to fund the
enhancement of returns to shareholders.
TRIG's operational cash
flows2 remain robust with £390m generated during the
year from 5.9TWh clean electricity produced by the portfolio. Four
divestments totalling £185m were signed in 2024 at an average 10%
premium to carrying value, demonstrating the Company's active
approach to balance sheet management and portfolio construction,
and highlighting the continued disconnect between TRIG's share
price and the robust underlying portfolio performance.
While the macroeconomic environment
continues to weigh heavily on share prices, resulting in persistent
discounts to Net Asset Values, an investment at TRIG's share price
at 31 December 2024 would have an implied long-term annualised
return of 11%.3 The Board believes this represents
compelling risk-adjusted value for investors, including a dividend
yield of 10.3%.7 With an excellent track record of
income growth, opportunities for future capital appreciation, and a
1GW development pipeline, TRIG is well placed to provide attractive
total returns to shareholders.
TRIG's large, high-quality £3bn
portfolio of renewables infrastructure is diversified across
technologies, geographies and power markets, enabling its Managers
to pivot investment decisions to where they see best value and to
mitigate risks associated with any one segment of the market. The
operational portfolio has a capacity of 2.3GW, and during 2024
generated enough electricity to power 1.6m homes and displace 2.0m
tonnes of CO2 per annum.
Financial performance
TRIG generated strong cash flow in
2024 through robust operations supplemented by selective disposals.
Operational cash flow of £390m represents gross cash cover of 2.1x
the 2024 dividend, or 1.0x net dividend cover after the repayment
of £206m of portfolio level debt across the Group.4
Portfolio distributions were impacted by lower power prices in 2024
compared to recent years as well as grid outages. These two factors
moderated dividend cover for the year, and whilst the offshore
cable outages have been repaired, there is typically some time-lag
before commercial protections such as insurance proceeds are
received. The power price outlook for 2025 is improved compared to
2024, with attractive revenue fixes struck for the coming
year.
TRIG's Investment Manager takes a
conservative approach to portfolio construction and balance sheet
management:
· The
portfolio benefits from the direct inflation linkage of over half
of its projected revenues over the next ten years.
· 80% of
forecast revenues are fixed per unit of electricity generated for
the next 12 months and 70% over the next ten years, respectively.
This provides TRIG with strong recurring revenue visibility to fund
shareholder returns and growth objectives.
· TRIG
also has limited exposure to higher interest rates with c.90% of
debt being fixed rate, at an average interest rate of 3.5%, and
fully amortising, with £425m having been repaid over the last two
years and over £900m of debt scheduled to be repaid over the next
five years.
The Company's Net Asset Value per
share at 31 December 2024 was 115.9p, with macro and external
factors being the largest component of the 11.8p reduction to the
prior year. Earnings per share for the year were -4.7p per share,
reflecting the reduction in valuation.
Macro factors that have weighed on
the valuation include slightly lower power price forecasts,
increased valuation discount rates for UK assets and lower 2024
outturn inflation. Other items that have reduced NAV per share
include: impacts in relation to external grid and transmission
infrastructure, including the impact of the third party cable
failures in the year at the Hornsea One and East Anglia One UK
offshore wind projects which are now repaired; the annual review of
operational assumptions including asset level energy yields; and
the impact of lower than forecast actual generation and power price
during the year. The Company has benefitted from gains from revenue
fixes and profits on divestment as well as accretion from share
buybacks in the year.
Active management
The wide-ranging capabilities of the
Company's Managers, InfraRed and RES, is a key strength of TRIG.
They adopt an active asset management strategy that is unique and
valuable in the renewables investment company peer group. In
addition to core investment and operational capabilities, their
team includes specialists in development stage investing, oversight
of platform investments, operational enhancements and revenue
management, each of which created value in the year.
Key development milestones were
achieved with the Ryton battery project in the UK on track to be
commissioned in H2 2025, the grid connection date for the
Spennymoor battery project in the UK being successfully accelerated
from 2031 to 2026 and the repowering of Cuxac onshore wind farm in
France having selected the preferred turbine supplier. Seven
planning approvals were received in relation to the wider batteries
pipeline. Nonetheless, and in recognition of the share price, the
Managers are deferring final investment decisions and investment
spend where possible.
TRIG acquired its first development
platform during the year, Fig Power, a UK energy projects developer
with a focus on battery storage, enhancing portfolio
diversification and continuing TRIG's strategic evolution. Fig
Power's near-term pipeline of 400MW has been integrated into the
TRIG portfolio and takes the development pipeline to 1GW capacity
that could enter construction by 2030. These value-add
opportunities are expected to be organically funded and have the
potential to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns by leveraging
the Managers' expertise in flexible capacity5 and development and
construction projects. We continue to harness RES's operational and
commercial capabilities to enhance and optimise performance of
existing assets. For example, RES is installing aerodynamic blade
hardware and software enhancements to increase the energy yield
across 69MW of capacity, with internal calculations indicating an
increase of up to 6%. Agreements have been reached to roll-out the
same software upgrades to a further 4 sites totalling 76MW
capacity, and we are excited by the return potential.
We have also made key strides in
respect of power price management with attractive fixes struck in
Great Britain (GB), France, Spain and Sweden. These include a
three-year power purchase agreement ("PPA") to supply a green
hydrogen provider in France and a ten-year agreement to sell
Guarantee of Origin certificates in Sweden, both at pricing above
levels assumed in the portfolio valuation.
The Company's principal risks are
monitored by the Board and the Managers and mitigated as
appropriate. TRIG continues to have four enduring principal risks
with a high residual impact which are: political / regulatory risk;
power prices; production performance and counterparty credit. These
and other risks are considered and expanded on in the Risk and Risk
Management section.
Capital allocation and dividend
The Board and Managers' capital
allocation priorities remain to pay an attractive, progressive
dividend and maintain a robust balance sheet. Thereafter, accretive
investment opportunities are considered, which include share
buybacks that set a high investment hurdle rate at the prevailing
share price.
I am pleased to report a dividend
target of 7.55p per share for 2025, an increase of 1.1% above the
2024 level. This increase is consistent with our policy of
increasing the dividend to the extent it is prudent to do
so,6 while retaining the flexibility to invest for
attractive capital growth and the desire to build dividend cash
cover. The 2025 dividend target represents a 10.3%
yield7 to TRIG's closing share price on 21 February
2025.
Divestment proceeds have been
applied to reducing floating rate drawings on the Company's
revolving credit facility ("RCF"). It is expected that proceeds
will be received in early March 2025 from the sale of a 15.2% stake
in Gode offshore wind farm, which was announced 1 August 2024, and
upon receipt, the RCF balance will reduce to c. £230m. RCF drawings
are expected to be reduced to £100m during 2025 using proceeds from
divestments, refinancings and projected retained cash.
Given our robust cash position and
the persistent discount to Net Asset Value during the year, the
Board is increasing the scale and pace of the Company's share
buyback programme from £50m to £150m, recognising the attractive
investment opportunity of acquiring TRIG's shares when trading at
their current discount to Net Asset Value. Between commencement of
the programme on 9 August 2024 and 24 February 2025, the Company
has purchased 36m of its own shares for a total consideration of
£33m.
Governance
Good governance is an important
tenet of the Board. Following the conclusion of the Board's
succession plan in 2023, the Nomination Committee commissioned an
external evaluation of the Board's effectiveness in the year, in
advance of the typical three-year cycle. The external evaluator
reported no material findings, and a number of their constructive
recommendations have been adopted to further enhance the Board's
operation.
As announced in February 2024,
Richard Crawford stepped down from leading the day-to-day
investment management of TRIG in the summer when he retired from
full-time employment. TRIG continues to benefit from Richard's
experience through his ongoing membership of TRIG's Investment and
Advisory Committees. Richard handed his responsibilities to Minesh
Shah as part of a well-planned and smooth transition.
The management team continues to
engage with energy sector and financial regulation consultations.
This includes significant engagement with government and industry
participants on the UK's Review of Electricity Market Arrangements
and on cost disclosure regulations stemming from Packaged Retail
and Insurance-based Investment Products (PRIIPs) and Market in
Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID).
As part of the Review of Electricity
Market Arrangements (REMA) consultation, the UK Government is
considering either reforming the existing national market or the
introduction of zonal pricing. Zonal pricing would involve setting
electricity prices in several locations on the transmission grid,
rather than having a single nationwide wholesale price. We and
other market participants have written to the UK Government
expressing our concerns in respect of zonal pricing, including
creating uncertainty that could jeopardise the UK Government's
objective to deliver a rapid and low-cost energy
transition.
The Board was pleased to see the
FCA's forbearance in respect of cost disclosures in the autumn;
however was disappointed that its principles were not adopted by
all market participants. The Investment Manager is engaging with
the FCA and industry to seek that the replacement CCI legislation
is implemented in the same spirit as was intended by the
forbearance. In line with Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
statements, TRIG has adopted a zero-charges MIFID disclosure on the
basis that it does not levy charges on its shareholders with detail
on the operating expenses of the Company provided in this Annual
Report and Accounts.
The Board has continued to meet with
shareholders through individual meetings, group site visits and at
the Company's AGM.
Over the course of the last year,
the Board and the Managers have been in discussions in relation to
the services provided to TRIG under the management agreements and
the fees paid to the Managers. Management fees has also been a
subject of discussion in the regular cycle of meetings between
shareholders and the Chair and Senior Independent Director of the
Board.
As of 1 April 2025, rather than
being applied to adjusted portfolio value, the new management fee
will instead be applied to an equal weighting of (i) the average of
the closing daily market capitalisation during each quarter and
(ii) the published Net Asset Value for the quarter. At the
prevailing share price, the changes would entail a 28% reduction in
the annualised, ongoing management fee compared to that paid in
2024. The changes agreed further align the Managers with TRIG's
strategy and the interests of shareholders.
Recognising the priority of
realising capital to enhance shareholder returns, the IMA and OMA
will now include a transaction fee that would apply to future
disposals and certain other transactions. Qualifying transactions
would be subject to Board approval. Importantly, the combination of
the ongoing management and transaction fees payable for the sale of
individual assets and the raising of new debt finance will not
exceed the quantum the management fee would have been under the
present arrangements.
In order to incentivise the Managers
to achieve the best result for shareholders in the event of a
takeover or an equivalent asset sale, the Board has agreed a fee
payable to the Managers of 3% of the value achieved in excess of
Net Asset Value and 3% of the value achieved in excess of market
capitalisation (pro-rated accordingly in relation to an equivalent
asset sale).
These terms are subject to
documentation and, where applicable, regulatory
requirements.
Outlook
Looking forward, we remain confident
that the themes of decarbonisation and energy security in Europe,
which underpin the sector's attractiveness, will endure. TRIG's
2.3GW operational portfolio continues to support these goals and
our 1GW 2030 pipeline of proprietary development projects provides
opportunities to displace fossil fuel generation further, deliver
earnings growth and contribute to attractive shareholder
returns.
We are conscious that the sustained
share price discounts to Net Asset Values experienced across the
sector over the past 18 months have materially impacted investor
returns. The disciplined capital allocation strategy we have
outlined of asset recycling and accretive investments, including
share buybacks, can provide returns growth without dependence on
equity capital markets for new funding. TRIG is well positioned in
this regard with its robust balance sheet, resilient portfolio and
expert management team, as well as providing scale and liquidity
for shareholders.
Richard Morse
Chair
24 February 2025
1. Includes
repayments of project-level debt of £206m (2023: £219m) and £55m
(2023: £34m) of RCF drawings during the year. Additionally, £85m of
value has been achieved from the part disposal of Gode which
exchanged in 2024, with a completion notice issued in February 2025
and cash proceeds due to be received on 5 March 2025. Once
received, cash proceeds from the part sale of Gode will be
available to further reduce RCF drawings.
2. On an
Expanded basis. Please refer to the Financial Review section for an
explanation of the Expanded basis. Operational cash flow generated
is reconciled to the cash flow statements as follows: cash received
from investments £238m less Company (including its immediate
subsidiaries TRIG UK and TRIG UK I) expenses £53m plus
project-level debt repayments £206m. Note: this measure excludes
profits on disposals of £9m received during 2024, with which gross
cash cover would be 2.2x and net dividend cover would be
1.06x.
3. Portfolio
discount rate less ongoing charges, adjusted for share price
discount to NAV at the 31 December 2024 of 29%.
4. The
Company, TRIG UK, TRIG UK I and its portfolio of investments are
known as the "Group".
5. Flexible
capacity is generation technologies that can store energy and
respond to electricity demand levels and pricing signals, such as
batteries, pumped hydro storage and green hydrogen.
6. The
Company's dividend policy is to increase the dividend when the
Board considers it prudent to do so, considering forecast cash
flows, expected dividend cover, inflation across TRIG's key
markets, the outlook for electricity prices and the operational
performance of the Company's portfolio.
7. The 2025
target represents a 10.3% dividend yield when referenced to the
share price of 73.6p per share at 21 February 2025. The 2025 target
should not be seen as an indication of the Company's expected
results or returns.
Investment Report
Financial highlights
Financial performance and near-term
outlook
Key
underlying portfolio metrics
|
2023
|
2024
|
Commentary
|
2025 outlook
|
Pro-forma portfolio revenue (£m)
|
793
|
671
|
TRIG's share of revenues for
each
project in the portfolio
|
Improving with higher power prices and the more significant
operational matters resolved
|
Fixed revenues %
|
65%
|
75%
|
|
80%
|
Cash and debt metrics
Pro-forma portfolio EBITDA (£m)
|
610
|
493
|
Revenue less operating costs such as
operations, maintenance, rent, business
rates and insurance
|
Improving with higher power prices and the more significant
operational matters resolved
|
Pro-forma portfolio EBITDA margin
|
77%
|
73%
|
EBTIDA as a percentage
of total revenues
|
Cash from projects before debt repayments
(£m)
|
558
|
444
|
EBITDA less interest payable by
projects
on project finance debt, tax
payments and working capital movements
|
Operational cash flows (£m)1
|
502
|
390
|
Operational cash flows after
deducting operating and finance costs from the fund
|
Gross cash cover
|
2.8x
|
2.1x
|
|
Distributable cash flows (£m)
|
283
|
184
|
Operational cash flows less project
level debt repayments made during the year
|
Net
dividend cover
|
1.6x
|
1.0x
|
|
c.1.1x
|
Total project-level gearing
|
£2.1bn
|
£1.8bn
|
|
Reduced by £206m during 2024, reducing further
to
£1.6bn by December 2025
|
Revolving credit facility (£m)2
|
364
|
309
|
|
Expected to be reduced to c.£100m by December
2025
|
Achieved merchant power price (£/MWh)
GB
|
113 70
|
|
Improving with higher
gas
prices
|
Spain
|
39 29
|
|
Improving with lower
hydro levels
|
Sweden
|
24 22
|
|
Remains low, particularly in northern price regions following
significant generation capacity build out
|
1. On an
Expanded basis. Please refer to the Financial Review section for an
explanation of the Expanded basis. Operational cash flow generated
is reconciled to the cash flow statements as follows: cash received
from investments £238m less Company (including its immediate
subsidiaries TRIG UK and TRIG UK I) expenses £53m plus
project-level debt repayments £206m. Note: this measure excludes
profits on disposals of £9m received during 2024, with which gross
cash cover would be 2.2x and net dividend cover would be
1.06x.
2. As at 31
December. Upon receipt of proceeds from the partial disposal of
Gode, it is expected that the RCF balance will reduce to
c.£230m.
Financial highlights
Financial performance and near-term outlook
The Group's operational cash flow
for the year at £444m or £390m less fund expenses, represents 2.1
times cover of the £184m cash dividend paid to shareholders and was
used to repay £206m portfolio-level debt. After operating, finance
costs and working capital, the Group's distributable cash flow of
£184m (2023: £283m) during the period covered the cash dividend 1.0
times. Pro-forma EBITDA for the year was £493m (2023: £610m). The
table above shows TRIG's share (pro-rated for TRIG investment %) of
revenues, EBITDA and cash received from investments.
The balances above are not on a
statutory IFRS basis but are pro-forma portfolio balances which
show the Group's share of the revenue and EBITDA for each of the
projects. These balances have been provided to give shareholders
more transparency as to the Group's capacity for investments and
resilience to service a progressive dividend.
Revenues are expected to improve
from 2024 to 2025 with improved power pricing and with the more
significant grid outages experienced in 2024 having been
resolved.
In general, it takes one to two
months between earning revenue and receiving the cash up from
investments. Consequently, working capital produces variations
between earnings measures and cash measures. In periods of rising
prices these working capital balances are expected to grow,
therefore increasing the differences, and vice versa in periods of
falling prices.
Revenues were lower in 2024 compared
to 2023, driven mainly by a decline in power prices from elevated
levels in 2023, the impact of divestments over the past 24 months
and external grid infrastructure outages. These revenue reductions
flow through to EBITDA and distributable cash flows.
The movement in distributable cash
flows from 2023 to 2024 is less than the reduction in revenues.
This is due to taxes levied on high power prices during 2023 across
most geographies, exacerbated by windfall taxes most notably in the
UK, which led to a one-off increase in taxes at project level in
2023 that did not apply in 2024 when power prices had reduced below
intervention levels.
EBITDA is strong at 73% reflecting
the high capital expenditure and low operational gearing of
renewables projects. After servicing project finance interest and
debt repayments, tax and working capital, cash is distributed from
the portfolio to TRIG.
Valuation
The Company's Net Asset Value as at
31 December 2024 was 115.9p per share (31 December 2023: 127.7p per
share) and the Company's portfolio valuation was £3,116m. Earnings
for the period were -4.7p per share (2023: 0.2p), principally due
to macro and external factors. The Managers' active financial and
operational management of TRIG has reduced the impact of macro and
external factors on the portfolio valuation, including:
The successful delivery of the 242MW
Ranasjö and Salsjö onshore wind farms through construction into
operations
· Divestments totalling £185m signed during the year at an
average 10% premium to carrying value
· Fixing
power and guarantee of origin certificate pricing for multiple
projects at attractive prices improving the value assumed in the
portfolio valuation, with further opportunities being
developed
· Limited cash flow exposure to rising interest rates due to
fixed interest rate borrowings and limited refinancing risk across
the project companies. Portfolio-level debt, which represents c.90%
of debt across the Group, has an average fixed interest rate of
3.5% and amortises c. £200m per annum with no refinancing
risk
Gains from revenue fixes and profits
on divestment added £19m or 0.8p per share to the portfolio
valuation. Share buybacks in the year added a further 0.1p/share.
Macroeconomic movements that adversely impacted the portfolio
valuation, and therefore earnings, by c. 6.1p per share primarily
included: slight reductions in power price forecasts, reducing NAV
by 2p per share; increases in valuation discount rates applied for
the UK assets, reducing NAV by 1.5p per share; lower outturn 2024
inflation than forecast, reducing by 1p. The balance relates to
other revenue forecasts and foreign exchange (FX)
movements.
Other factors that impacted the
portfolio valuation include: transmission infrastructure outages,
which were repaired during the year; grid downtime in Germany; and
increased grid losses for transmission connected UK offshore wind
projects, collectively reducing NAV by 2.4p per share. Lower than
forecast generation and achieved pricing during the year, reducing
NAV by 1.8p per share, and a review of operational assumptions
including asset-level energy yields and operating costs, resulted
in a net reduction of NAV by 2.4p per share.
The Investment Manager believes the
Company's portfolio valuation remains a fair representation of the
total value of the Company's underlying assets. This has been
demonstrated over the past 24 months through £210m of divestments
carried out at a 11% premium to carrying values. Nonetheless the
Company's share price continues to demonstrate a significant
dislocation between the valuation placed on renewables assets by
private buyers, and the valuation public market investors are
placing on the Company's shares. This backdrop is reflected in the
Managers' pursuit of further disposals.
Greater detail on the valuation
movements for the year ended 31 December 2024 can be found in the
Valuation of the Portfolio section on page 38 of the 2024 Annual
Report.
Capital allocation
Responsible balance sheet management
and disciplined capital allocation are key priorities for the
Company's Board and Managers, particularly in light of the
prevailing elevated cost of capital compared to recent historical
levels.
Divestment proceeds received in the
year have been allocated to share buybacks, floating rate debt
reduction and construction spend.
The Company commenced a £50m share
buyback programme on 9 August 2024, of which £33m has been invested
to date with the Company having bought back 36m shares. Buybacks at
a significant discount to NAV are an economically rational capital
allocation. As such, and at the prevailing share price discount to
NAV, the Board has increased the scale, pace and term of the
Company's buyback programme from £50m to £150m, representing
approximately 8% of TRIG's shares in issue. The programme is
expected to end by 31 May 2026, subject to market conditions. The
Managers are progressing over £300m of disposals and financing
initiatives to take advantage of the disconnect between private and
listed markets, and enhance returns to shareholders.
The Company's floating rate debt and
refinancing risk is isolated to its revolving credit facility
("RCF"). Borrowings under the RCF were £309m at 31 December 2024.
It is expected that proceeds will be received in early March 2025
from the sale of a 15.2% stake in Gode offshore wind farm, which
was announced 1 August 2024, and upon receipt the RCF balance will
reduce to c. £230m. The RCF was refinanced in 5 February 2025 and
has a maturity of 31 March 2028. The interest rate on the RCF is
currently c.5.3%. The majority of TRIG's debt is long-term,
fixed-rate, amortising project-level debt. The average interest
rate on this debt is 3.5%. project-level debt was reduced by £206m
in the year to £1.8bn at 31 December 2024, which represents 37% of
enterprise value.
Construction and development spend
of £48m was incurred during the year. These investments were
predominantly in the Ranasjö and Salsjö onshore wind farms, Ryton
battery storage project and the Fig Power development platform, all
of which represent attractive investment opportunities for the
Company in areas of strategic priority. New investment decisions
are being benchmarked against alternative uses of capital,
particularly share buybacks. Where possible, final investment
decisions and expenditure are being deferred.
Future commitments for new projects
have not been increased in the year and existing commitments have
been delayed where possible without jeopardising the value of the
existing investment. Remaining commitments of £95m are expected to
be substantially funded from operational cash flows.
|
|
|
2025
|
2026
|
2027
|
Total
|
Outstanding commitments
(£m)
|
39
|
18
|
38
|
95
|
The Managers are actively pursuing
further divestment and financing opportunities to progress the
Company's capital allocation priorities.
Dividend
The dividend target for 2025 has
been set at 7.55p per share, representing a 1.1% growth on the 2024
dividend, which reflects the Board and the Managers' desire to
build dividend cash cover. The 2025 dividend target represents an
10% yield1 to TRIG's closing share price on 21 February
2025.
Investment highlights
The Investment Manager takes a
careful and considered approach to portfolio composition so that
TRIG consistently benefits from a large, diversified and balanced
portfolio with investments spread across different geographies,
technologies, revenue types and project stages to mitigate
risk.
The Managers' successful delivery of
projects through development and construction stages into
operations is a key route to creating value for shareholders.
Several significant milestones were reached during the year,
including the commissioning of the Ranasjö and Salsjö onshore wind
farms in Sweden. Adding 121MW of net operational capacity to the
portfolio.
TRIG's ongoing construction and
development projects continue to progress well: the Ryton battery
storage project in the UK has entered construction and is expected
to be commissioned in H2 2025. The repowering of Cuxac onshore wind
farm in France has continued to progress having selected the
preferred turbine supplier, and the grid connection date for the
Spennymoor battery project in the UK has been brought forward from
2031 to 2026.
Battery storage assets are critical
to the energy transition and are particularly complementary within
a portfolio of renewables generation assets, which can absorb the
higher volatility commensurate with the higher returns battery
storage investment offers.
During the year, TRIG acquired Fig
Power, a UK energy projects developer with a focus on battery
storage, comprising an advanced pipeline of 400MW across seven
projects, with grid offers ranging from 2025 to 2033. The
investment has been integrated into the portfolio. The Fig Power
team have made good progress in the year having secured planning
permission for seven projects representing 190MW / 380MWh capacity
with a further five projects totalling 280MW / 560 MWh in planning.
A key milestone for the Fig Power portfolio will be the outcome of
the National Energy System Operator's review of the grid connection
queue on the back of the government's Clean Power 2030 plan. This
is expected towards the end of 2025. TRIG's development pipeline
represents 1GW capacity that could enter construction by 2030.
These projects can present the opportunity to deliver double-digit
rates of return on a build-and-hold basis. In addition to a
pipeline of projects for TRIG to build, the Investment Manager
expects that, taking into account factors including TRIG's cost of
capital implied by its share price together with portfolio balance
and weightings, there will be opportunities to sell developed
projects to third parties and crystallise a development profit for
TRIG.
Importantly, development activity is
expected to be self-funded through retained cash in excess of the
dividend, proceeds from portfolio rotation and debt capacity as
existing portfolio-level debt amortises. These value-add
opportunities have the potential to provide attractive
risk-adjusted returns by leveraging the Managers' expertise in
flexible capacity and development and construction
projects.
Principal risks and uncertainties
TRIG's principal risks, approach to
risk management and counterparty exposures are set out in the Risk
and Risk Management section of this report. Below is a commentary
on the key movements in these risks in the period. In a
macroeconomic environment where inflation and interest rates
continue to be elevated, the correlation of portfolio returns to
inflation and the Company's approach to long-term, fixed-rate and
amortising structural debt are key risk mitigants.
Political and regulatory
The risk of government or regulatory support for renewables
changing adversely.
The 'windfall' taxes and levies on
generators introduced in 2022 in the wake of particularly elevated
power prices across TRIG's core markets have now all expired, with
the exception of the Electricity Generator Levy in the UK which
remains in place until 31 March 2028. There remains a risk that
further intervention may result if electricity prices were to
increase significantly again; however, current power price forwards
and the forecasts used in the valuation of the portfolio are below
the recent intervention price levels.
Across TRIG's markets, 2024 saw
elections in the UK and France, and early elections in Germany in
February 2025. The Labour Government in the UK has announced a
number of policies in support of the renewable energy industry
including: reducing planning hurdles for onshore wind development,
increasing the budget for the AR6 Contracts for Difference
allocation round and establishing a state-owned energy company to
support more nascent renewable technologies; however, the impact of
these policies is expected to be realised over the longer term. In
France and Germany, there is less clarity given the lack of clear
political majority in France resulting in challenges in approving
the 2025 fiscal budget and the very recent election process in
Germany. The Managers will continue to monitor policy developments
and engage on reform consultations across the markets in which TRIG
is invested.
The governments across Europe,
including the UK, continue to assess options to reform electricity
markets, including how the wholesale electricity price is set and
whether new long-term revenue support contracts should be made
available to existing generators. TRIG's approach to diversify
political and regulatory risk across jurisdictions helps to reduce
the impact on the portfolio from individual risks at the national
level. A range of technologies and locations across the UK reduces,
but does not remove, the risks associated with the potential
implementation of locational pricing in the GB power market. In
particular, revenues could be adversely impacted in areas of lower
demand where many UK wind sites are based due to the strong wind
resource available with some partial offset likely from wind and
solar sites in areas of higher demand.
Power prices
The risk of electricity prices reducing or not increasing as
expected.
Power prices in 2024 continued to
reduce from the highs seen in 2022 / 2023 and were particularly low
in the Nordics and Iberia where higher rainfall resulted in
elevated hydro levels relative to historical averages. The power
price outlook for 2025 is improved compared to 2024 with attractive
revenue fixes having been put in place for the coming year as part
of TRIG's revenue management strategy. Price volatility remains as
increasing variable generation capacity across Europe has led to
greater instances of negative intra-day pricing highlighting the
case for flexible capacity, including battery storage, and the
requirement for an active revenue management strategy.
There has been little change in the
long-term fundamentals of power prices in the period, leading to
limited movements in long-term power price forecasts compared to
those as at 31 December 2023 in most geographies. The valuation of
the Company's portfolio overlays market derived forward prices to a
blend of cannibalised power price forecast curves produced by three
independent forecasters. There is a risk that actual power prices
achieved are below these forecasts.
As the penetration of renewables
increases and therefore intermittency of energy systems increases,
TRIG will be more actively seeking to provide balancing services to
the grid through battery storage. By discharging electricity during
periods of low generation and absorbing excess electricity in
periods of high renewable availability, batteries are able to
smooth the intra-day price volatility associated with variable
renewable resource. The inclusion of batteries in TRIG's portfolio
therefore provides a valuable natural hedge against volatility in
power prices from generation assets located in the same
market.
Production performance
The risk that portfolio electricity production falls short of
expectations.
Overall, generation for the year was
down against budget with the single largest impact coming from
unplanned, third-party grid outages. Further detail on operational
performance during the year can be found in the Operations Report
on page 31 of the 2024 Annual Report. The Operations Manager
continues to develop and oversee the deployment of energy yield
value enhancements to improve generation output, as detailed in the
Enhancements section.
Counterparty credit
The risk of failure of a major supplier
TRIG's portfolio is weighted towards
wind-power assets, a sector that is dominated by a small number of
equipment manufacturers. Counterparty failure could result in
equipment not being supplied to construction projects or
operational and maintenance services not being provided to
commissioned projects or being disrupted.
Turbine manufacturers have
experienced financial pressure due to cost escalation over the past
few years of prolonged high inflation. While this has moderated
slightly with trading performance in 2024 improving for many of
TRIG's key turbine suppliers, counterparty risk is still considered
to be elevated and will continue to be monitored closely for signs
of whether this improvement is sustained into 2025.
Construction activities are limited
by TRIG's Investment Policy cap of 25% of portfolio value and were
6% of Portfolio Value at 31 December 2024. Construction projects
are in the battery storage sector where there is a wider range of
equipment suppliers compared to the wind sector.
The increase in independent
operations and maintenance service suppliers reduces dependence on
the original equipment manufacturers, particularly with respect to
onshore technologies.
Revenue profile
TRIG benefits from diversification
across several power markets, with projects in Great Britain, the
Single Electricity Market (Northern Ireland), the main continental
European power market (France and Germany), the Nordic market
(Sweden) and the Iberian market (Spain).
TRIG's portfolio cash revenues have
substantial medium-term protection from movements in power prices
as the portfolio receives a high proportion of its revenue from
government subsidies such as Feed-in Tariffs ("FiTs"), Contracts
for Difference ("CfDs"), Renewable Obligation Certificates ("ROCs")
or from selling electricity generated via power purchase agreements
("PPAs") with fixed prices or from other hedges, together referred
to as fixed revenues. The Managers take an active approach to
revenue management, and further details on fixes and PPAs,
including corporate PPAs, entered into in the period can be found
within the Operations Report.
The Group2 receives a
portion of its revenues in Euros; 39% of the portfolio by value is
invested in Euro-denominated assets,3 the Group employs
foreign exchange hedging to significantly mitigate the cash flow
and valuation exposure to this risk, as expanded upon in the
Valuation of the Portfolio section on page 38 of the 2024 Annual
Report.
The Investment Manager implements
the Company's foreign exchange hedging policy through Sterling-Euro
swaps for up to four years forward. As a result of the interest
rate differential between UK and the Eurozone, forward foreign
exchange contracts over the next four years have been struck at
levels better, in Sterling terms, compared to the foreign exchange
rate as at 31 December 2024 and used in the portfolio
valuation.
1. The 2025
target should not be seen as an indication of the Company's
expected results or returns.
2. The
Company, TRIG UK, TRIG UK I and its portfolio of investments are
known as the "Group".
3. Including
Sweden which receives electricity revenues from Nord Pool in
Euros.
Operations Report
Operational performance
|
|
|
|
Net
capacity
(MW)
|
2024
Load factor
|
Electricity production
(GWh)
|
Performance vs Budget
|
Onshore
|
UK
|
548
|
29%
|
1,403
|
-5%
|
|
France
|
259
|
23%
|
523
|
-13%
|
|
Sweden
|
401
|
28%
|
923
|
-5%
|
Offshore
|
GB
|
376
|
43%
|
1,420
|
-3%
|
|
Germany
|
232
|
41%
|
822
|
-3%
|
Solar
|
GB, France,
|
156
|
11%
|
151
|
-9%
|
|
Spain
|
363
|
21%
|
673
|
-4%
|
Total
|
|
2,335
|
|
5,915
|
-4.9%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
During the year 5.9TWh was
generated, equivalent to 2% of the UK domestic electricity usage.
Overall electricity generation was 4.9% below budget for the year.
The single largest impact on generation was from unplanned grid
outages, due to equipment owned by third parties - distribution or
transmission owners, which are used to export electricity from the
site grid connection point to the national grid. Insurance claims
are underway, for applicable outages earlier in the year, with some
interim payments now received.
Wind and irradiation levels in the
year were 1% above the long-term mean, weighted by the TRIG
portfolio's distribution across the UK and western Europe. This is
the sixth year within the last ten when the UK wind resource,
weighted for the TRIG portfolio's geographical dispersal, has been
at or above the 1996 to-date long-term mean. The weather was more
stable overall in 2024 compared to recent years, with all wind
regions within 3% of their respective long-term mean averages.
Excluding grid outages, generation was 2.8% below
budget.
The Managers have dedicated resource
that actively develops, implements and secures commercial and
operational enhancements.
Revenue management
highlights:
· Signing of a three-year corporate supply agreement in France
with a green hydrogen manufacturer. Generation for 2025 has been
fixed at a premium to forecast prices.
· Ten-year contract with a European auto manufacturer for the
sale of Guarantee of Origin (GoO) certificates associated with
282GWh of annual generation in Sweden; and.
· The
price for 828GWh generation output in 2025 has been fixed by the
Managers across GB & NI and Spain. This is in addition to the
3TWh fixed under government contracts.
Since year end, TRIG has entered
heads of term discussions in respect of a ten-year corporate PPA
for 2% of the Group's annual generation. This will be incorporated
into the portfolio valuation once executed.
The key operational enhancements
highlight in the year was the progression of blade and software
improvements to increase generation across 174MW net generation
capacity:
· Installation of phase one is complete in respect of 69MW.
Internal calculations indicate up to 6% energy yield increase,
which is being validated by a third-party
· Hardware and software trials are underway across 114MW, with
roll-out across the associated sites expected to be completed
during 2025 and uplifts validated in 2026
· These
enhancements have not been included in energy yield budgets nor the
portfolio valuation, until fully externally validated. A 3% energy
yield uplift across 174MW net generation capacity could add £6m to
Portfolio Value
Potential blade and software
upgrades are being developed for a further 76MW net generation
capacity.
Onshore wind
UK
Performance in the region across the
year was on budget, excluding the impact of outages caused by
offsite third-party owned grid
equipment, which adversely impacted
some sites' ability to export. Where applicable, insurance claims
have been submitted to ensure that the projects deliver
commercially. Underlying wind resource was 2% above the long-term
mean.
A re-tendering of Operations and
Maintenance ("O&M") contracts for Altahullion and Lough Hill in
Northern Ireland concluded during the year, which provides price
certainty through to repowering in the late 2020s with competitive
terms secured.
An enhanced approach has been
adopted for managing strategic spares at older Northern Ireland
onshore wind sites. This approach included a review of historic and
forecast parts usage, updated lead times for securing parts and
single point of failure analysis to re-confirm critical components
- whether large or small. To further support future major component
exchanges that require crane usage, a proactive crane hard-standing
design review was performed. This helps to ensure that the ground
conditions are well understood, and appropriate and safe to use
prior to cranes arriving on-site as well as minimising down
time.
At Mid Hill, an off-site grid
transformer owned by a third party failed in mid-June, preventing
the site from being able to export electricity to the grid. The
wind farm has now been fully returned to service and lost
generation is expected to be compensated. Crystal Rig 1 suffered a
flash-over in October during switching activities within a turbine.
A comprehensive cleaning and rectification programme is underway
across the site, with turbines expected to be returned to service
during Q1 2025.
Within the Fred Olsen joint venture,
blade hardware enhancement works were performed at Rothes 1 and
Paul's Hill. Installations included blade tip furniture to smooth
the wind flow around the end of the blades as well as vortex
generators along the length of the blade to reduce turbulence as
the air leaves the blade, both of which reduce loading on the
blades and towers and increase the energy yield secured. Close to
half of the hardware has been installed, the remainder of the
turbines on these sites will have hardware installed in summer
2025.
France
France was the only wind region
within TRIG's portfolio where the mean wind in the year was below
the long-term mean. This lower wind contributed to the greater
variance between budget and actual generation in the
period.
Proactive measures at some of the
more mature sites have been undertaken to reduce risk to related
downtime as the projects are prepared for repowering.
Older sites in southern France have
recently suffered from below budget availability due to higher
component faults or component failures. To address these failure
rates, new O&M contracts have been entered into with larger,
dedicated teams of technicians. This greater focus of resources
will help to maintain and then improve performance on these four
sites as they move towards repowering.
Some negative pricing events have
been experienced in the region, during which generation is
curtailed so as to mitigate losses. Ancillary service contracts are
being reviewed to help mitigate the risk or value of any negative
pricing that arises in future.
In the second half of the year, a
PPA was signed for TRIG to supply Hyd'Occ, a green hydrogen
facility, with renewable electricity from the Company's onshore
wind farms located in the Occitanie region. The project will
contribute to the energy transition through the development of a
low-carbon hydrogen industry in the region.
Vannier onshore wind farm's
environmental authorisation is subject to an ongoing legal
challenge. A court ruling has required the wind farm to temporarily
suspend generation, for an assumed period of up to 12 months,
whilst updated environmental data is collected. TRIG has commercial
protections in place for this.
Sweden
The Ranasjö and Salsjö projects were
energised in January, with full operations being achieved in April
following the ramp-up phase. Located in central Sweden, the sites
consist of 39 Siemens turbines each rated at 6.2MW. TRIG has a 50%
interest in the projects representing 121MW of net generation
capacity. Some turbines have suffered gearbox issues since
take-over requiring rectification, which is performed under
warranty at the turbine supplier's cost, with an availability
warranty in place to protect the project from any associated
downtime. Ranasjö and Salsjö experienced higher than expected wind
since their commissioning, whilst Grönhult and Jädraås wind was
on-budget across the full year. However, Jädraås suffered from
thirdparty grid maintenance works, which reduced its export
capacity, preventing the region from fully benefiting from the good
wind. A long-term fix for GoO certificates associated with 282GWh
of annual generation in Sweden was entered into at prices in excess
of those assumed in TRIG's valuation assumptions.
A RES analytics and diagnostics
software tool, Anemo Live, is currently being implemented at
Grönhult to enhance operation of the site by sourcing significantly
higher resolution data, enabling turbine performance to be better
understood and optimisation opportunities for yield enhancement to
be identified.
Offshore wind
GB
UK wind resource for TRIG's offshore
windfarms was 3% above the long-term mean. The previously reported
grid faults, that occurred on third-party owned offshore
transmission infrastructure but affected TRIG and its
co-shareholders on East Anglia One and Hornsea One, have been
repaired. The cost of repair was suffered by the asset owner, not
the projects. Insurance to compensate for lost generation is in
place. Claims have been submitted and an initial payment on account
received. An insurance excess applies, so whilst the projects are
not fully insulated from the grid owners' equipment failures, they
are substantially protected and the risk management is considered
to be appropriate.
Beatrice experienced a one-month
grid curtailment to enable works to be performed on a third-party
owned substation, adversely impacting its ability to export during
this time.
At Hornsea One, Power Curve
'Optipitch' upgrades have been rolled mout and it has achieved
success in a bid for the provision of Electricity System Response
(ESR) services to National Grid ESO. Following the end of the
project's warranty period in July 2024, O&M services have been
transferred to Orsted, with availability warranties
preserved.
Germany
Wind resource was on-budget during
the year, supporting good generation performance before the impact
of grid losses and a substation outage at Merkur, alongside
curtailments at Gode for negative pricing events. Commercial terms
for PPA have been improved to identify and reduce exposure to
negative pricing in the future.
A turbine power curve upgrade was
completed at Merkur, enabling the turbines to generate more
electricity at a given windspeed. Merkur also had additional blade
leading-edge protection works completed. These blade works reduce
the erosion suffered by the blades as they pass through the air,
thereby improving their long-term aerodynamic performance whilst
also extending the blade lifespan with fewer repairs
required
Solar and storage
Spain
Very good availability was achieved
across the large Spanish assets, which represent over 80% of the
TRIG solar portfolio by generation volume. Generation was adversely
impacted by export curtailment in response to low power prices for
the Cadiz projects in H1 2024. These curtailments resulted from
above-average rainfall increasing run of river hydroelectric power
generation in the region, which suppressed power prices. Since Q2,
Cadiz price curtailment has improved, reducing related losses from
15GWh in Q2 to less than 1GWh in Q3.
New route to market agreements for
the Cadiz solar sites enabled participation in the ancillary
services market from Q3 2024, providing an additional revenue
stream for the projects when curtailed at low prices. This
commercial enhancement is already in place at TRIG's other Spanish
solar site, Valdesolar.
Further commercial enhancements were
achieved for the Spanish solar sites, including the completion of
an O&M tender at Cadiz as well as the execution of a PPA with
fixed pricing elements at Valdesolar on attractive terms,
increasing power price security across the Spanish
portfolio.
In July, the Cadiz solar projects
were awarded the Spanish Photovoltaic Union (UNEF) Seal of
Excellence for Sustainability, recognising the integration of
social and environmental factors following an independent
audit.
GB
GB solar performed well across the
year. Module replacement for one site is scheduled for 2025, which
will improve the overall efficiency and prolong the life of the
site. The Broxburn storage asset passed its extended performance
test, demonstrating good compliance and asset health, to continue
participation in Capacity Market Process. Studies are also
commencing to analyse optimal revenue streams following the
expiration of the project's Enhanced Frequency Response contract in
June 2028.
France
The French solar projects, which
represent approximately 5% of the TRIG solar portfolio by
generation volume, generally performed well through the year. Two
sites in French overseas territories are undertaking site-wide
module replacement, which commenced in H2 2024, and will improve
generation efficiency and output. Phasing of the module
replacements has been ordered to minimise offline capacity at any
one time, with both sites expected to be back to full operations
during H2 2025.
Development and construction
Swedish wind farms Ranasjö and
Salsjö, representing 121MW net generation capacity for TRIG were
commissioned in H1 2024.
The first project in TRIG's 1GW 2030
development pipeline, the 78MW two-hour Ryton battery storage
project near Newcastle, commenced construction in April and is
progressing on schedule. Ground works are complete. Independent
Connection Provider and Electrical Balance of Plant works commenced
in July. Energisation is targeted for winter 2025 and full
commercial operation in spring 2026.
The grid connection date for the
100MW Spennymoor project has successfully been brought forward from
2031 to 2026. Design and procurement activities are being
progressed. Recognising TRIG's capital allocation priorities and
the investment return hurdle rate set by share buybacks, the
Managers have deferred the final investment decision to
2025.
A revised planning consent has been
obtained for the 90MW Drakelow project reflecting the final site
design. The grid connection date for the project has been delayed
by two years due to delays to wider grid reinforcement works.
Engagement is ongoing with the grid companies.
Repowering works continue to
progress in France. Cuxac onshore wind development site secured an
inflation-linked tariff of €86/MWh and obtained authorisation for
the increase in site capacity from 22.8MW to 25.2MW. The preferred
turbine supplier has also been selected and EPC negotiations are
being progressed. The final investment decision has been deferred
to 2025 and will be informed by the Board's capital allocation
strategy and relative risk-reward for alternative uses of capital
at the time.
A planning application for the
repowering of Haut Cabardès onshore wind farm in France was
submitted in December 2024, with approval expected to take 12 to 18
months.
Fig Power, the battery development
platform acquired by TRIG in 2024, has made significant progress in
the year. Ten of the battery projects now have site lease options
signed and seven projects have obtained planning permission. A
further five projects have submitted and are awaiting receipt of
planning permission. The first project with a 2027 grid connection
date will be considered for its final investment decision in 2025,
which will factor in TRIG's capital allocation priorities. More
broadly, a key milestone for the Fig Power portfolio will be the
outcome of the GB National Energy System Operator's Strategic
Spatial Energy Plan outlined in December 2024 as part of the wider
Clean Power 2030 strategy. Development expenditure and overheads of
the platform in 2025 are expected to be modest.
Health and safety
Delivering high quality health,
safety and environmental ("HSE") standards within the portfolio
continues to be the top priority. The portfolio asset managers
promote a strong safety culture through a proactive approach,
utilising safety drills, training days and internal and external
audits, amongst other activities, which complement the robust
safety frameworks. RES, the Operations Manager, continues to engage
proactively with the asset managers to share best practice and
lessons learned across the portfolio. TRIG's Managers continue to
promote a strong HSE culture throughout the portfolio, encouraging
open communication, reporting and continuous improvement. The best
practice approach to HSE culture is exemplified by the HSE
coordination group hosted twice a year by the Operations Manager.
The group fosters relationships between the various asset managers
across the portfolio and provides a forum to share information and
discuss matters that have arisen on the portfolio and wider
industry. There has been a continued focus on positive leading
indicators such as the number of independent and internal safety
audits and assurance reviews, hazard identifications and safety
walks.
During 2024, across the portfolio
there have been no HSE-reportable severe accidents. Over the past
five years TRIG has reduced the 12-month rolling average seven-day
Lost Time Accident Frequency Rate ("LTAFR") from 0.49 for the 2020
financial year to 0.23 for the 12 months to 31 December 2024,
reflecting both a reduction in higher risk construction activity in
the period as well as active management of health and safety risk
by the site managers across the portfolio.
Highlights of proactive measures
taken in 2024 include:
· A
revised HSE assurance process launched by RES for TRIG projects
focusing on undertaking desk-based management system and site-based
inspections. The assurance process is built upon core ISO standards
and is overseen by the Operations Manager. Targets in relation to
these assurance reviews have also been embedded in TRIG's RCF
sustainability KPIs.
· Project Company Director visits which have taken place or are
scheduled at sites across the portfolio, to ensure familiarity with
the sites and to engage with the local service providers on safety
and other key themes.
· A
large number of drills and exercises conducted across the
portfolio. This includes offshore emergency rescue training at
Beatrice offshore wind farm and person overboard training at Gode
offshore wind farm. HSE awareness campaigns were run on a large
number of topics including hand safety, winter weather driving and
manual handling.
· A RES
Global Safety Focus Event took place in May 2024 incorporating some
4,500 colleagues from 24 countries all undertaking a safety stand
down day to focus on best-in-class safety culture and
performance.
Enhancements
The Managers, RES and InfraRed are
dedicated to enhancing portfolio performance, shareholder returns
and stakeholder value through both commercial and technical
initiatives. The Managers apply a structured framework to identify,
appraise and implement enhancements at both individual and
portfolio levels. Examples of the enhancements progressed during
2024 include:
Increasing revenues:
Blade improvements to increase
generation:
· The
installation of a first phase package of aerodynamic improvements
to multiple turbines' blades at four sites in the UK wind portfolio
(100% owned with total site capacities of 59MW) is complete, with
the data collection period to validate the energy uplift
underway.
· Installation of an initial phase is complete at two sites
within a French joint venture portfolio, with data collection
underway, and is well progressed at two further GB projects within
a separate joint venture portfolio (of which 66MW represents TRIG's
share), benefiting from RES's wider understanding and associated
research and development on TRIG sites.
· An
associated suite of parameter changes to the turbine controller, to
maximise the additional energy yield from the hardware upgrades,
has been installed and validated on a trial site in GB (48MW) -
recognising that, once blade aerodynamics have been altered,
further performance optimisation can be obtained by changing the
way in which the blades are operated.
· Software upgrades improved yield by 1% in addition to the 5%
achieved from the blade hardware upgrades at the initial trial
site.
Wind turbine software enhancements
to improve operational efficiency using advanced
technologies:
· The
wake steering and collective control trial at Altahullion in
Northern Ireland has completed with independent energy
yield
· uplift
analysis concluded over the winter of 2023 demonstrating an uplift
of over 0.5%. This enhancement is an innovative retrofitted upgrade
to increase electricity production whilst also reducing turbine
loads and thereby helping to prolong good structural health of the
wind turbines. Approval has been granted for deployment at a second
UK site;
· A
power curve upgrade package that optimises the pitch of the blades
at wind speeds below rated power has been deployed at Merkur
offshore wind farm following trials, expected to increase energy
yield by 0.7%. Validation has commenced to determine the final
energy yield uplift, on which payment is based;
· Power
Curve 'Optipitch' upgrades have also been rolled out at Hornsea One
with an estimated 0.7% energy yield uplift. Deployment is similarly
anticipated in Q1 2025 at Beatrice with an estimated uplift of 1%;
and
· A
power boost upgrade, which increases a turbine's power output by up
to 5% in certain operating conditions, is under the final stages of
assessment at Hornsea One, with a "mini" version ready to deploy
when weather conditions allow;
· A wake
steering system from a turbine manufacturer continues to be
progressed at two offshore windfarms, with negotiations underway at
a third;
Minimising lost
production:
· Shadow
flicker typically arises on sunny winter days when the sun is low
in the sky, for very distinct time periods that change each day.
Software upgrades have been implemented at Blary Hill to
automatically identify the positioning of the sun relative to the
turbines and local dwellings coupled with the cloud cover, to
determine whether shadow flicker is likely to occur from a
particular wind turbine. This approach helps to ensure that wind
turbines are only curtailed when shadow flicker is present,
typically only ten-twenty hours per year, to minimise the lost
production and any potential adverse impact.
· Ice-
phobic blade waxing trial complete at Haut Languedoc. Buildup of
ice on blades can cause weight imbalances across the rotor,
resulting in turbines stopping automatically to prevent damage to
the turbines, with resulting production losses in winter. The wax
application is to assess its efficacy in preventing ice build-up,
thereby reducing production losses.
· RES'
proprietary AnemoLive remote performance optimisation tool will be
installed at four projects to complement existing condition
monitoring and enhance the identification of operational
improvement opportunities.
· A
trial of a new RES product to optimise the power output and
inverter temperature at solar parks has commenced on three GB
projects. The software manages temperatures at a threshold to avoid
overheating and tripping. On hot days this optimisation can result
in an increase in output by up to 20% and will reduce degradation
on inverters and associated replacement rates
Additional revenue
streams:
In addition to the primary sources
of revenue from wind and solar sites relating to the sale of
electricity and / or an enabling subsidy, additional smaller
ancillary revenues can also sometimes be obtained.
· In
Spain, a new sales agreement for the Cadiz solar sites has enabled
participation in the ancillary services market, principally to
participate in balancing market activities. In addition to the new
revenue stream, through the provision of such services, there is
also a reduced likelihood of the grid operator from needing to
curtail the site to maintain system stability, resulting in less
uncompensated curtailments.
· In
Sweden, ancillary services for the provision of grid balancing
services have been identified, with the installation of software to
facilitate the process now contracted with the grid operator, in
order to access a new revenue stream at Ranasjö and
Salsjö.
· In
France, contracts to provide grid-balancing ancillary services are
progressing for the four southern French sites which are
scheduled
· to be
repowered, offering the potential for an additional revenue stream
for the remaining operating life of these projects.
· Two GB
solar sites are scheduled to take part in a flexibility service,
offered by local Distribution Network Operators that will help
balance demand-supply on the system.
· Hornsea One was successful in tendering for the provision of
Electricity System Restoration (formerly known as Black Start)
'Top-up' functionality to the National Grid over a five-year
contract from November 2025. This capability enables the project to
help restore the grid in the event of a partial or total loss of
power on the grid, following which, other large generators without
Black Start capability are then able to re-connect to the
grid.
Optimising operations:
· The
recently renewed operation and maintenance contracts at Altahullion
and Lendrum's Bridge onshore wind farms have been supplemented with
a comprehensive spares strategy to mitigate ongoing challenges in
the spares market for components for these older turbines. This
structure facilitates a more efficient procurement approach, more
cost-effective spares and lower downtime for the
turbines.
· GB
solar inverter repowering studies are well progressed, which once
inverters have been replaced, will reduce operating costs, increase
availability and prolong the life of the sites.
· Further GB solar inverter software optimisation opportunities
are currently being evaluated to enable inverters to operate more
dynamically, particularly in hot weather, to avoid degradation and
trips due to excessive temperatures.
Directors' Statement of Responsibilities
The Directors are responsible for
preparing the Directors' Report and the financial statements in
accordance with applicable law and regulations.
The Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008
requires the Directors to prepare financial statements for each
financial year. Under that law, the Directors are required to
prepare the Group financial statements in accordance with
International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") as adopted by
the European Union. Under company law, the Directors must not
approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that
they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the
Company and of the profit or loss of the Company for that
period.
In preparing these financial
statements, International Accounting Standard 1 requires that
Directors:
· Properly select and apply accounting policies;
· Present information, including accounting policies, in a
manner that provides relevant, reliable, comparable and
understandable information;
· Provide additional disclosures when compliance with the
specific requirements in IFRSs are insufficient to enable users to
understand the impact of particular transactions, other events and
conditions on the entity's financial position and financial
performance; and
· Make
an assessment of the Company's ability to continue as a going
concern.
The Directors are responsible for
keeping proper accounting records that are sufficient to show and
explain the Company's transactions and disclose with reasonable
accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company and
enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the
Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008. They are also responsible for
safeguarding the assets of the Company and hence for taking
reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and
other irregularities.
The Directors are responsible for
the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial
information included on the Company's website. Legislation in
Guernsey and the United Kingdom governing the preparation and
dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation
in other jurisdictions.
Directors' responsibility statement
We confirm that, to the best of our
knowledge:
· The
financial statements, prepared in accordance with International
Financial Reporting Standards, give a true and fair view of the
assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the
Company;
· The
Chair's Statement, the Strategic Report and Report of the Directors
include a fair review of the development and performance of the
business and the position of the Company and Group taken as a whole
together with a description of the principal risks and
uncertainties that it faces; and
· The
Annual Report and financial statements when taken as a whole are
fair, balanced and understandable and provide the information
necessary for shareholders to assess the Company's position,
performance, business model and strategy.
This responsibility statement was
approved by the Board of Directors on 24 February 2025 and is
signed on its behalf by:
Richard Morse
Chair
24 February 2025
Publication of documentation
The above information is an extract
from TRIG's 2024 Annual Report. The Annual Report has been
submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be
available for inspection at: https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism.
It can also be obtained from the Company Secretary or from the
Reports & Publications section of the Company's website,
at https://www.trig-ltd.com/.