NextPower UK ESG, a private fund for new-build solar energy projects, has reached its 11e utility-scale solar project, bringing the total capacity of its portfolio to more than 500 MW.
The fund, managed by NextEnergy Capital, has acquired the 18.5 MW Locks Solar Farm, located in Hampshire, England. The project is ready for construction, having been awarded a contract in the sixth Contracts for Difference (CfD) award round (AR6). The project was granted planning permission in March 2023, after receiving the support of the local parish council after it initially opposed the development. Approval has also been obtained for an on-site battery energy storage system (BESS), but the extent of this has not been disclosed.
With this acquisition, NextPower UK ESG now manages 515.5 MW of solar assets and is targeting a total portfolio of 2 GW in the coming years.
Since launch, NextPower UK ESG has secured £683 million and according to NextEnergy Capital, the fund currently has several investors in late-stage due diligence and expects to secure further capital in the coming weeks.
Ross Grier, COO and head of UK investments at NextEnergy Capital, said: “This acquisition represents a major milestone for NextPower UK ESG. The portfolio now has a total capacity of 515.5 MW; This is a great achievement for a fund that launched less than two years ago.”
The rise and rise of NextPower UK ESG
Since launching in 2022, NextPower UK ESG has gone from strength to strength. In June the company powered its third solar farm, the 24MW Penlow solar power station in Essex, having previously brought online the 75MW Llanwern solar farm and the 40MW Strensham project.
In October, NextPower UK ESG signed one of the largest recorded Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) for the Llanwern solar power station in South Wales. Anglian Water Services has signed a 20-year inflation-linked agreement with NextPower UK ESG, covering 90% of the project’s electricity and all associated Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO) certificates.
NextEnergy Capital has also made moves in the BESS sector. NextEnergy Capital’s solar and BESS fund, NextPower V ESG, secured US$110m (£85.75m) in equity funding in March this year, of which £77.9m came from a major European pension fund. NextPower UK ESG has also benefited from pension scheme investments Solar energy portal reported that an unnamed UK defined benefit scheme had made a significant investment.
