NextEnergy Capital (NEC), a global renewables investment manager focused on solar and energy storage infrastructure, announced the final close of its NextPower V strategy, bringing total commitments for the strategy and related co-investments to $974 million.
The fundraising milestone reflects strong investor demand for contracted solar and energy storage assets across OECD markets. The investor base includes a mix of existing and new institutional investors, including pension funds and local government pension pools from Europe and the UK, as well as international institutions seeking exposure to the growing solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage system (BESS) sectors.
The final commitments of $125 million came from a large UK Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) fund and a major Japanese institution. Several investors from previous NextEnergy Capital funds, including NextEnergy III and NextEnergy UK I, also participated in the strategy.
NextPower V has already made significant progress deploying capital. The portfolio currently comprises 127 assets across eight transactions, representing approximately 550MW of capacity. The strategy is diversified across multiple OECD markets and focuses on contracted revenue streams, high-quality counterparties, and long-term cash flow generation.
The portfolio currently consists of 83% operational assets, 13% assets under construction, and 4% ready-to-build projects. Approximately 60% of the portfolio’s capacity is already contracted, covering seven of its eight portfolios.
Building on NEC’s investment history dating back to 2007, during which the firm has invested in more than 530 utility-scale renewable energy projects, NextPower V benefits from the company’s vertically integrated platform and proprietary deal pipeline. NEC expects the strategy to continue scaling toward an approximately 1GW portfolio.
The strategy remains focused on OECD solar PV projects and adjacent technologies such as battery energy storage systems, targeting attractive risk-adjusted returns through disciplined asset selection, active management, and value creation initiatives.
One of the strategy’s most recent investments is a 73MW agrivoltaic solar project in Central-South Italy that is currently under construction. The acquisition represents NextPower V’s largest investment in Italy to date and is among the country’s largest agrivoltaic projects currently under development.
KEY QUOTE:
“Delivering a successful conclusion of the fundraising for our fifth investment strategy, bringing our assets under management to c.$5Bn, is a milestone for our Group. We are particularly grateful to our investors for their support as we pursue our mission of decarbonising the power generation systems in our key markets, increasing energy security and independence as well as contributing to lower power prices all while delivering superior financial returns. Our team’s focus is now on achieving value for our investors as we finalise deployment of the capital raised.”
Michael Bonte-Friedheim, Group CEO, NextEnergy Capital
