TIDMUSF TIDMUSFP
RNS Number : 3862G
US Solar Fund PLC
23 July 2019
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INVESTMENTS IN ANY JURISDICTION.
23 July 2019
US SOLAR FUND PLC (USF, the "Company")
FIRST BINDING ACQUISITION AGREEMENT
USF TO ACQUIRE 128 MWDC SOLAR PROJECT IN UTAH WITH 25-YEAR PPA
WITH S&P A-RATED OFFTAKER
US Solar Fund plc (LON: USF (USD)/USFP (GBP)), a newly
established investment company focused on investing in solar power
assets primarily in the United States (US), is pleased to announce
it has executed an acquisition agreement for the Milford Solar
Project, a 128MW(DC) utility-scale solar power project located in
Utah, in the western US (the Project). The agreement follows USF's
announcement of exclusivity on the Project on 14 June 2019.
The Project has executed a 25-year power purchase agreement
(PPA), with an investment-grade (S&P rating: A) offtaker,
beginning in the second half of 2020. The PPA sets a fixed price
for 100% of the electricity produced by the Project for the next 25
years.
USF's acquisition is expected to be completed later in 2019,
simultaneous with the financial close of debt and tax equity
financing, based on term sheets already executed with two
commercial banks and a leading tax equity provider, with
construction commencing immediately after that. The Project will be
constructed on a fixed-time and fixed-cost basis by a leading
engineering procurement and construction contractor with a 150-year
track record in the US, using First Solar Inc.'s (First Solar,
NASDAQ: FSLR) high-performance Series 6 solar panels. First Solar
Energy Services is expected to provide operations and maintenance
services under a separate long-term contract.
The Project is expected to be funded with USF's cash equity
contribution of approximately US$30m, US$50m in non-recourse bank
debt finance, and the balance from tax equity. The expected returns
from the Project are in line with those anticipated in the
Company's investment objective, as set out in its prospectus dated
26 February 2019.
USF will acquire the Project from Longroad Energy Partners, LLC.
(Longroad). The Longroad team has a track record of developing and
financing more 5GW of utility-scale renewable energy projects since
2004, including over 1GW in the state of Utah.
USF continues to due diligence opportunities from its pipeline
and expects to announce further investments in due course.
Gillian Nott, Chairman of USF, said:
"We are delighted to have signed this acquisition agreement for
the first of our pipeline investments within just over three months
of our IPO. The Milford Solar Project, with its 25-year contracted
cashflows and A-rated offtaker, provides a strong, long-term
foundation for USF's portfolio. The Company has an extensive
pipeline of high-quality assets in which we expect to continue
deploying our IPO proceeds in the coming months."
Liam Thomas, Chief Investment Officer of USF's investment
manager New Energy Solar Manager, said:
"Since USF's IPO in April we have been focused on converting
pipeline opportunities into acquisitions for the Company. The
highly contracted nature of the Milford project makes it an ideal
first acquisition, and we are excited to partner with such an
experienced developer in Longroad. We look forward to announcing
further acquisitions in due course."
Further information on the Company can be found on its website
at http://www.ussolarfund.co.uk.
For further information, please contact:
US Solar Fund
Whitney Voûte +1 718 230 4329
Cenkos Securities plc
Alex Collins
Sapna Shah
Tom Scrivens +44 20 7397 8900
Macquarie Capital (Europe) Limited
Stephen Taylor
Nick Stamp +44 20 3037 2000
KL Communications +44 20 3603 2803
Charles Gorman
Josie Workman
About US Solar Fund plc
US Solar Fund plc listed on the premium segment of the London
Stock Exchange in April 2019, following its successful US$200m IPO.
The Company's investment objective is to provide investors with
attractive and sustainable dividends with an element of capital
growth by investing in a diversified portfolio of solar power
assets in North America and other OECD countries in the
Americas.
The Company will acquire or construct, own and operate solar
power assets that are expected to have an asset life of at least 30
years and generate stable and uncorrelated cashflows by selling
electricity to creditworthy offtakers under long-term power
purchase agreements (or PPAs).
About the Investment Manager
USF is managed by New Energy Solar Manager (NESM). NESM also
manages New Energy Solar, an Australian Securities Exchange
(ASX)-listed fund which has committed over US$800m to US and
Australian solar plants since late 2015.
NESM is owned by Walsh & Company, the funds management
division of Evans Dixon, an ASX-listed company (ASX: ED1) with over
A$18 billion of funds under advice and management.
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END
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