Renewable energy investor and asset manager NextEnergy Capital has launched its most recent international solar capital fund, NextPower V ESG (NPV ESG), with a target of US$1.5 billion in capital commitments and a ceiling of US$2 billion.
The fund is designed to target investments in assets in Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) regions, a group of countries organised to commit to sustainable economic growth. It is the fifth investment deal NextEnergy has made focused on the solar sector and follows the NextPower III ESG (NPIII ESG) that ran from 2018 to 2022, ultimately raising US$900 million.
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NPV ESG aims to offer mid-double-digit returns across the solar value chain. The investments will be focused on those OECD regions where NextEnergy has an existing foothold and operating presence, such as Italy – where it recently began developing an 87MW agrivoltaic solar-plus-storage project – and the UK.
Michael Bonte-Friedheim, CEO and founding partner of NextEnergy Group said: “NPV ESG will continue the investment strategy we successfully conceived and implemented in its predecessor fund NextPower III ESG. At full deployment, we expect the fund to own an installed capacity of c.3.5GW.
“We have already identified a pipeline of c.13GW for NPV ESG, and are preparing to deploy the capital raised rapidly among this opportunity set.”
NextEnergy said that NPV ESG will have privileged access to this 13GW pipeline portfolio, providing investment visibility and sourcing advantage.
Shane Swords, NextEnergy Capital managing director and head of investor relations said: “There is significant demand and necessity for further solar deployment globally driven by climate change requirements and individual government targets.”
PV Tech Premium spoke with NextEnergy Capital in March 2022 after the closing of NPIII ESG about the details of its investment plans. The firm has also continued its UK-specific investment fund, NextPower UK ESG, which has raised £487 million (US$598 million) to date.
The company launched its Starlight renewables development division in 2022 with a target of developing 5GW of projects within three years.