NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF) has made another acquisition, its fourth this year, with the purchase of a 66.8MW operational portfolio.
Acquired for a total consideration of £42.2 million, the ten sites are based in the south west of the country and are a mix of Renewables Obligation and feed-in tariff-accredited sites, connected to the grid before March 2014.
The portfolio includes;
- The 1.6 ROC-accredited, 15.3MW Hook solar farm, located in Somerset;
- The 1.6 ROC-accredited, 7.6MW Whitley solar farm, located in Somerset;
- The 1.6 ROC-accredited, 7.2MW Saundercroft solar farm in Devon;
- The 1.6 ROC-accredited, 6.1MW Blenches solar farm in Wiltshire;
- The 1.6 ROC-accredited, 5.4MW Burrowton solar farm in Devon;
- The 1.6 ROC-accredited, 5.7MW Raglington solar farm in Hampshire;
- The FiT-accredited (10.34p/kWh), 5MW Chilton Cantello solar farm in Somerset;
- The FiT-accredited (10.34p/kWh), 5MW Crossways solar farm in Dorset;
- The FiT-accredited (8.01p/kWh), 4.8MW Wyld Meadow solar farm in Dorset, and;
- The FiT-accredited (7.71p/kWh), 4.6MW Knockworthy solar farm in Cornwall.
The acquisition takes NESF’s portfolio to 85 operational assets with a total generating capacity of 689.4MW, firmly cementing the investor’s place in the top-three holders of UK solar assets.
The portfolio itself has a long-term debt facility amounting to £58.3 million which matures in 2033.
Meanwhile, NESF has also announced the closing of a £40 million revolving credit facility with Santander, which has been fully drawn to finance the acquisition. It expires in July 2020.
The firm said it was continuing to pursue further transactions in its pipeline and expects to make additional purchases in due course.