UK’s NextEnergy Capital Expands Fund By $100 Million

• NextEnergy Capital says an unidentified European pension fund has invested $100 million in its latest fund 
• Focused on select OECD markets, the NPV ESG fund has built up a pipeline of solar and storage projects in the US, Spain, Poland, Italy and Canada 
• It is targeted to raise a minimum of $1.5 billion and a maximum of $2 billion to build significant portfolios in select markets by 2033 

The UK-headquartered global renewables manager NextEnergy Capital has secured capital commitment of $100 million from an unidentified European pension fund for its NextPower V ESG (NPV ESG), a solar and battery storage strategy fund. 

The focus of this fund is to invest in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations. 

The European pension fund joins the existing funders, namely German occupational pension fund KLP and a large Nordic pension fund that also remains unidentified. 

NextEnergy says the NPV ESG targets to raise $1.5 billion with a $2 billion hard cap. It has so far secured $580 million in total commitments. The proceeds are planned to be invested in the solar + infrastructure sector in carefully selected OECD markets. The aim is to build significant portfolios in each target market till the end of its holding period in 2033. 

The maiden investment project of the NPV ESG is a 100 MW utility-scale project in Highland County in Florida, US. It touts an 18 GW pipeline of investment opportunities under exclusivity. These it expects to close shortly in the markets of Spain, Poland, Italy, Canada and the US. 

NextEnergy Capital says it has invested in more than 400 individual solar plants to date, with over 3 GW of combined capacity across its institutional funds. 

"NextPower V ESG is our largest international fund which will provide a real impact and tangible benefits to the communities and countries where its assets are located, whilst also providing an opportunity for investors looking for strong and stable renewable energy returns," said NextEnergy Capital Managing Director and Global Head of Investor Relations, Shane Swords.