NextEnergy Capital announces NextPower III as the winner of the Renewables Fund of the Year in Environmental Finance’s Sustainable Investment Awards 2020

London, June 30^th, 2020 – NextEnergy Capital is delighted to announce that NextPower III has won the prestigious international award of “Renewables Fund of the Year” in Environmental Finance’s Sustainable Investment Awards 2020. The Award demonstrates NextPower III’s rigorous implementation of the ESG principles which helps to maximise the funds’ performance.

There is increasing recognition within the financial community in the value which Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors play in determining risk and return in investments. The Sustainable Investment Awards 2020 honour investors and other players in the market who have been leaders in the field of sustainable finance.

The 2020 Sustainable Investment Awards had an exceptionally large number of very high-quality entries this year, double those of last year. The winners were selected by an advisory panel consisting of industry experts chosen for their knowledge, objectivity and credibility, along with the Environmental Finance editorial team.

“We are really delighted and honored to have received this international award which covers all renewables, not just solar” said Michael Bonte-Friedheim, Founding Partner and CEO of NextEnergy Capital. “We have a dedicated ESG team and manage our investments in a sustainable manner which is one of the reasons why we have such strong performance across all funds”.

Notes to Editors

About NextEnergy Capital (NEC)

NEC was founded in 2007 to become the leading investment and operating asset manager in the solar sector. Since its inception, it has been active in the development, construction and ownership of solar assets. It currently has solar assets under management of c.US$2.3bn, across three investment vehicles. To date, NEC has invested into over 200 individual solar plants for an installed capacity in excess of 1GWp.

NEC manages three investment vehicles: two private funds, NextPower III and NextPower II, and one listed investment company, NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited.

NextPower II is a private fund investing in operating solar power plants, focused on Italy. Its strategy is to consolidate the substantial, highly fragmented Italian solar market, and has commitments of €232 million, secured from Prudential Assurance Company, a subsidiary of M&G Prudential, a leading institutional investor with more than £500 billion of assets under management, and including Pantheon, an experienced investor in infrastructure, private equity and real assets with over US$42 billion in AUM. NextPower II currently owns 95 solar plants in Italy comprising c.137MWp and is among the ten largest solar asset owners in Italy.

NextEnergy Solar Fund is a listed investment company that invests in operating solar power plants mainly in the UK. It currently owns c.754MWp spread among 91 individual assets in the UK and Italy, comprising a gross asset value of c.£1,060m. NESF has raised equity proceeds of c.£792m since its initial public offering on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in April 2014. At present, it is listed on the FTSE 250 index and is one of the largest listed solar energy funds in the world.

NextPower III is a private ESG infrastructure fund established to invest in the international solar sector, specifically to fund the construction and long-term ownership of solar power plants. NextPower III’s target markets comprise mainly OECD countries. It currently has commitments of c.US$280m, and a target size of US$750m. NPIII currently owns six solar plants, for a total installed capacity of 384MW and has circa 800MW in exclusivity.

In addition, NEC is active in the operating asset management through WiseEnergy, the leading specialist operating asset manager in the solar sector. Since its founding, WiseEnergy has provided solar asset management, monitoring and technical due diligence services to over 1,300 utility-scale solar power plants with an installed capacity in excess of 1,700MWp and value of c.$4 billion. WiseEnergy’s clients comprise leading banks and equity financiers in the energy and infrastructure sector.

NextEnergy Capital is also active in the development phase of solar projects. It is progressing a very large pipeline of development projects in the UK totalling in excess of 2GWp and is developing a pipeline of 300MWp in Italy.

Further information on NEC, WiseEnergy and NESF is available at www.nextenergycapital.com, www.wise-energy.eu and www.nextenergysolarfund.com.

For further information:

NextEnergy Capital Limited +44 203 746 0700

Michael Bonte-Friedheim
Aldo Beolchini

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