First close achieved for NextPower UK ESG (NPUK ESG) fund

The NextPower UK ESG (NPUK ESG) fund, managed by Next Energy Capital (NEC) has reached its first close at GBP327 million (US$382.30 million). The UK Infrastructure Bank has committed to invest GBP162.5 million (US$189.98 million) at the first close.

The fund has a target size of GBP500 million (US$584.56 million) and a hard cap of GBP1 billion (US$1.16 billion). The Fund intends to double the amount of subsidy-free solar power in the UK. It will invest exclusively in solar plants based in the UK and, at hard cap, will enable the construction of up to 60 subsidy-free solar plants across the country, with the capacity to provide up to 2 GW of clean electricity annually enough to power 500,000 households per year.