UK solar investor looks to lock down 186MW of projects

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

The NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF) will issue 250 million new shares as it looks to buy up a raft of projects in the UK before the closure of an existing support scheme.

Projects over 5MW will no longer qualify for the renewable obligation (RO) after March 2015 and instead will have to compete with onshore wind for capacity in the competitive contracts for difference (CfD) auctions.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

NESF has confirmed that it has exclusive rights, for a certain period of time, on £210 million (US$340 million) of solar farms that are either operational or scheduled to be connected before the RO is closed to projects over 5MW on 1 April 2015.

The investments represent around 186MW of capacity.

In addition to these agreements, NESF claims to have a pipeline of potential investments with a value of £333 million (US$540 million).

The news shares will be issued in early November. There is no prospectus at this time.

According to the latest NPD Solarbuzz analysis, there are well over 500 ground-mounted solar farms in the UK competing to fill the 2GW of installations expected between now and 31 March 2015.

Investors will be keen to secure their share of projects that appear likely to qualify for the final RO allocation for large-scale projects and there could be a flurry of transactions in the next six months.

Read Next

Premium
October 14, 2025
Perovskite, tariffs, Section 232 and FEOC were among the key topics discussed at PV CellTech USA this year in San Francisco.
October 14, 2025
German IPP wpd has started construction at its 140.6MW Marcy solar park in the Nièvre department of central France.
October 14, 2025
Levanta Renewables will develop a 166MWp ground-mounted solar and storage project in the Visayas Islands as part of the Philippines’ Fourth Green Energy Auction. 
October 14, 2025
India has installed 4.9GW of residential rooftop solar capacity in the first half of 2025, according to a report by IEEFA and JMK Research.
October 14, 2025
Apple will support 650MW of projects as part of a major expansion of its renewable energy investments in Europe, aimed at reducing its carbon footprint.
October 13, 2025
France’s Engie and the UAE’s Masdar have been chosen to jointly develop a 1.5GW PV power plant near Abu Dhabi.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK