West Briton (Falmouth, Penryn, Helston, The Lizard)
Pension funds invest £230m in South West solar farms
A GROUP of South Westbased pension funds has invested £230 million in solar farms across the region.
The investment is being made by six Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds – Cornwall, Devon, Avon, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire – through a new fund, Wessex Gardens Limited Partnership. The fund is designed to deliver climate-friendly investments across the West of England.
The funding is part of a bigger £330m commitment by the group which is investing in 11 solar farms with a generating capacity of approximately 140MWp – equivalent to powering almost 52,000 homes. The solar farms are based in Devon, Bristol, Bath, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire.
The transaction forms part of the largest operational solar deal ever agreed in the UK.
The deal involves Toucan
Energy’s UK solar portfolio being majority acquired by Schroders Greencoat, the specialist renewables manager of Schroders Capital. A significant portion of the Toucan portfolio is being acquired by the six LGPS schemes via Schroders Greencoat’s Wessex Gardens LP.
Councillor Shaun Stephenson-McGall, vice chair of the Avon Pension Fund Committee, said: “Climate change is a huge issue and we all must play our part in protecting our planet for future generations.”
Councillor John Hart, leader of Devon County Council, said: “Our Investment and Pensions Fund Committee took the important decision to commit £60m to this new Local Impact Fund in order for it to help create jobs and improve renewable energy production across the South West. I am delighted that, as a result, there will be a large portfolio of existing solar farms across the region, including one in Dunkeswell.”
The local solar assets are spread across the region and include: Dunkeswell Airfield, near Honiton, Devon; Manor Farm, Upper Wick, near Dursley Gloucestershire; Home Farm, Brockhampton, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire; New Stone House, Wendlebury, Oxfordshire; Trowle Common, Trowbridge, Wiltshire; and Grange Farm, near Bradley Stoke, Bristol.