Sun shines on NextEnergy as it plans global expansion with new $750m fund

A UK-based asset manager will raise $750m (£585m) to expand its portfolio of solar farms, it was revealed yesterday.

NextEnergy, which has around $1.4bn in assets under management, has already raised $160m after the first close of its NextPower III fund.

It has secured investments from the Norwegian pension fund, a Swedish life insurance firm, and an unnamed third investor.

It will invest in between 2.5 and 3 gigawatts of solar plants over its 10-year life, chief executive Michael Bonte-Friedheim told City A.M.

The fund, which is expected to close late next year, will buy assets with a total investment value of $2.5bn, including leverage.

It will make around 75 per cent of investments in OECD and Key Partner countries, and positions NextEnergy as managers of the only fund investing purely in the booming market for international solar projects, he said.

“In most markets solar does not need subsidies to compete with traditional energy production. So solar is destined to grow astronomically,” he said.

The manager’s other funds, NextPower II and the listed investment company NextEnergy Solar Fund focus on investments in the UK and Italy.

The company also announced it has secured a further €48m investment in NextPower II, currently three years into a five year lifespan, which will be used to buy completed solar farms in Italy.

NextEnergy is already in extensive discussions with other investors and is talking to potential targets.