SEEIT is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement to acquire a portfolio of on-site, predominantly solar PV operational projects from United Utilities Group PLC (“UUG”) for a consideration of approximately £100 million. SEEIT will acquire a 100% interest in United Utilities Renewable Energy Ltd (“UURE”), which is a portfolio totalling 69 MW across 70 sites in the Northwest of England.

The assets provide renewable energy generated on-site directly to the end-user, United Utilities Water Limited (“UUW”). UUW is the regulated water and wastewater business of UUG, a listed water and wastewater company in the UK.

The renewable portfolio comprises 90% solar PV, 9% wind and 1% hydro in terms of total generation. The portfolio benefits from long term contracted cashflows and, as the assets are operational, will be immediately cash yielding.

The solar PV and wind assets are all connected to UUW on-site water utility infrastructure via private wire, and provide green electricity under long-term, fixed-price power purchase agreements with UUW, which covers approximately 74% of total revenues. Additionally, a number of assets benefit from 20-year Feed-in-Tariffs, with fixed RPI-linked payments backed by the UK Government, which account for approximately 17% of the total revenues with a remaining weighted average life of 14.5 years.

The transaction fits SEEIT’s investment policy as it increases the supply of renewable energy generated on-site and helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions arising from the supply, distribution and consumption of energy. In particular, these assets supply clean energy to critical water infrastructure sites.

The investment is funded from the Company’s existing resources and completion is expected in the coming months subject to customary consents and approvals.

Commenting on the investment, Jonathan Maxwell, CEO of Sustainable Development Capital LLP, said “This project is an opportunity with distinct energy efficiency characteristics, providing essential clean energy services directly to an essential end-user, thereby helping to reduce the carbon emissions associated with supply from the grid. SEEIT is acquiring an operational on-site portfolio of scale with an investment grade counterparty, which will increase its exposure to the UK, enhancing its overall diversification by geography, technology, and counterparty.”

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Further Investment in Europe and North America

• Finance of geothermal projects through a €25 million senior debt facility
• $10 million preferred equity investment in the upcoming Series C financing round of Turntide Technologies Inc. (“Turntide”); terms signed for provision of a $100 million Project Financing facility to finance future qualifying energy efficiency projects
• c.£19 million of further investments into Onyx, Sparkfund, Tallaght, EVN and Biotown projects

SEEIT, the first UK-listed investment company to invest exclusively in the energy efficiency sector, is pleased to provide an update on recent investment activity. SEEIT’s investment manager is Sustainable Development Capital LLP (“SDCL”).

Investment in Geothermal Projects

SEEIT has signed an agreement to finance a portfolio of geothermal projects owned by Baseload Capital Sweden AB (“Baseload”) through a €25 million senior debt facility (the “Facility”).

The Facility will be used to finance the capex of existing and pipeline projects, with an initial expected draw down of up to €6 million at closing, to re-finance current operational assets and assets in construction or late-stage development. SEEIT will benefit from long-term stable cashflows, through contracted debt repayments over 10 years, with returns linked to the prevailing EURIBOR rate. The Facility will be senior secured over all the underlying project cashflows.

Baseload develops, builds and operates small-scale geothermal projects which utilise existing heat sources, both geothermal and waste heat. Compared to conventional geothermal powerplants the technology uses low-temperature resources that are found at shallower depths making them less operationally complex and less expensive to drill. The modular units are quick to deploy and require a small footprint, reducing both construction risk and construction period. 

The geothermal projects provide power and heat offtake to end users under long-term fixed price take-or-pay contracts with high credit quality offtakers, typically local utilities, municipalities or Commercial and Industrial (“C&I”) counterparties.

Baseload is developing projects in Iceland, Japan, the United States and Taiwan with the current portfolio in Iceland, the United States and Japan.

The investment fits within SEEIT’s Investment Policy, given its energy efficiency characteristics, while adding further diversification to SEEIT’s portfolio. The low-temperature geothermal assets provide renewable baseload power generation direct to local communities, avoiding grid losses and displacing alternative fossil fuel forms of generation, required due to the typical intermittent renewable generation. Captured geothermal fluid from the generation process provides heating to local district heating networks, displacing the use of gas boilers. The associated environmental benefits include a reduction in CO2 emissions relative to traditional generating technology.

Investment in US Energy Efficient Motor Company

SEEIT has signed an agreement to provide a preferred equity investment of $10 million in the upcoming Series C financing round of Turntide. SEEIT and Turntide have also signed a Term Sheet regarding the provision of a project financing facility of up to $100 million, whereby SEEIT will finance the capex of future qualifying energy efficiency projects delivered by Turntide, so that it can deliver infrastructure as a service. 

Turntide is a sustainable technology developer, headquartered in California, which manufactures energy efficient motor systems that do not use rare earth minerals. The innovative, variable-speed motor systems reduce carbon emissions and provide energy cost savings in the commercial real estate, agriculture, and transportation industries. Within its electrification & transport business unit, Turntide also offers a fully scalable electrification system, including batteries, which can be employed by electric vehicle and machine manufacturers.

Turntide’s customers are located predominantly in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and continental Europe and include a number of investment grade multinational companies. Due to the wide range of industries utilising Turntide’s products, this investment provides strong diversification across geography and industrial sectors.

The investment aligns well with SEEIT’s Investment Policy as part of its allocation of 3% of gross asset value to developers, managers or operators of energy efficiency projects, given Turntide’s energy efficiency characteristics. It also adds further technological diversification to SEEIT’s portfolio. Electric motors consume approximately 50% of electricity used globally, of which about 50% can be wasted due to inefficiency and ineffective operations. Turntide’s patented motor system can reduce energy consumption by over 60% compared to business as usual and is free of the environmentally damaging rare earth minerals used in other high-efficiency motors utilising permanent magnets.

Further deployment in existing Projects

In addition to these two investments, SEEIT has also completed follow-on investments into existing Projects to support the roll-out of new sites as well as providing construction funding. Since 31^st March, SEEIT has invested c.£19 million into Onyx, Sparkfund, Tallaght, EVN and Biotown.

These investments are funded from the Company’s existing resources and support SEEIT’s guidance on its total returns target as well as its stated progressive dividend policy.

Commenting on the investments, Jonathan Maxwell, CEO of SDCL, said: “SEEIT’s two new investments with Baseload Capital and Turntide will further diversify the portfolio by technology, industry and geography while also providing key infrastructure services in global efforts to achieve net zero.

Turntide has the ability to achieve a significant reduction in global electricity consumption wasted by legacy electric motors in commercial buildings, agriculture and transport. It is also well positioned to play an important role in the electrification of transport. SDCL considers the relationship with Turntide as an exciting long-term partnership and we look forward to working with them on many new projects in the coming years.”

Purvi Sapre, Fund Manager of SEEIT, said: “Baseload Capital provides heat and power generated locally from geothermal sources and is a great example of high efficiency renewable district energy generation. Our investment generates income straight away and, as such, contributes to meeting both SEEIT’s yield and total return targets.”

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