The Pensions Infrastructure Platform (PiP) has agreed to acquire six UK solar farms as part of its multi-asset fund, it announced today.
PiP said the 5MW solar farms had been acquired in a deal with solar cell and module producer, Trina Solar, following the conclusion of each farm’s construction phase.
Three of the farms will be ‘grid-connected’ by the end of March this year and the remaining three will be completed once they become operational, PiP said.
It added the nature and location of the six assets provided investors with a well-balanced and geographically diversified portfolio – as well as 20 years of inflation-linked cashflows.
PiP also claimed investors will gain from the deal being conducted under the Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC) regime – a subsidy scheme for solar PV installations above 5MW – and long-term operation and maintenance contracts.
PiP chief investment officer Ed Wilson (pictured) said: “We are pleased to have been able to work with Trina Solar to structure and execute a transaction that provides our investors with the long term, inflation-linked cash flows they are seeking to support their accrued pension payment obligations.”
The platform was advised by KPMG (financial), Eversheds (legal), Everoze (technical), EY (accounting and tax) and Cornwall (market).
The deal is the fourth investment made by PiP in the last seven months.
At the end of last year, it facilitated a deal which saw RPMI Railpen provide £20.3m of inflation-linked debt capital to refinance a portfolio of rooftop solar panels across England and Wales.
In November, PiP acquired a portfolio of 31 individual wind turbines from Golden Square Energy, a renewables business and joint venture partnership between infrastructure investors, Ingenious Infrastructure and AGR.
And in July last year, PiP provided £27.5m of inflation-linked debt financing to refinance a portfolio of 2,366 rooftop solar assets across England and Wales, arranged by Novatio Capital.
PiP chief executive Mike Weston said: “PiP has made huge progress towards its ultimate goal of providing UK pension schemes with a better way of investing into infrastructure. Last year PiP received FCA authorisation, launched the PiP Multi-Strategy Infrastructure fund, grew the team to eight and added three new independent directors to its board. This gives us a great foundation for the year ahead.”
