London-based renewable energy investor NextEnergy Capital Group has announced plans for a dedicated fund to invest in subsidy-free solar plants in the U.K.
The investor, which already operates three solar-focused funds with assets across the U.K. and Italy, revealed plans for its NextPower UK ESG pot as it announced Spanish bank Santander would provide a £100 million (€113 million) credit line to fund two major, subsidy-free projects in England and Wales.
The 75 MW Llanwern solar project in South Wales is set to be the U.K.’s largest solar farm to date when it comes online in the final three months of the year. The 40 MW project under development by NextEnergy in Strensham, in the English county of Worcestershire, is expected to come online during the same three-month window.
A press release issued by PR company Engine MHP on behalf of NextEnergy today – to announce the Santander credit line – stated the two projects would each operate under power supply deals signed with unspecified energy off-takers. The statement added, both projects would be moved by NextEnergy into a new U.K. subsidy-free solar investment pot aiming to fund a “significant number” of such new projects. NextEnergy said the two projects would have a joint construction value of £60 million.
The investor said its listed NextEnergy Solar Fund Ltd operates 90 solar projects with more than 754 MW of generation capacity, mostly in the U.K. and Italy. The NextPower II private fund operates 95 plants in a 137 MW Italian portfolio and the NextPower III private fund operates five facilities with 357 MW of capacity across various OECD countries.
