The Renewables Infrastructure Group plc (LON:TRIG), a London-listed investment company advised by InfraRed Capital Partners as Investment Manager and Renewable Energy Systems as Operations Manager.
Acquisition of a development platform
· TRIG has acquired 100% equity interest in Fig Power, a UK-based developer focused on battery storage
· Acquisition furthers TRIG’s technological diversification and bolsters TRIG’s development pipeline with 400MW of advanced stage battery storage projects
· Fig Power’s management team brings extensive industry experience, has a proven track record of success in the energy sector, and will benefit from the expertise of TRIG’s Managers
TRIG has acquired a 100% equity interest in Fig Power, an energy projects developer based in Bristol, formerly a sister company of Hydrock Consultants Limited. The expected outlay over the next two years is c. £20m – approximately half for the upfront consideration and half relating to ongoing development expenditure. Thereafter, Fig Power is projected to be self-funding from the proceeds of selling a portion of its pipeline once developed and prior to construction. Funding of the business plan will be subject to annual budget reviews and at the discretion of TRIG.
Fig Power has a 1.7GW development pipeline in the UK, including nine more advanced projects (c. 400MW with grid offers ranging from 2025 to 2033) and a further c. 1.3GW of exclusive sites. Fig Power’s two-hour projects are expected to participate principally in the UK wholesale and balancing markets. The investment case for the individual projects Fig Power is developing are not expected to be dependent on the ancillary services market, which is shallower than the wholesale and balancing markets.
In addition to securing a pipeline of projects for TRIG to build, the Investment Manager anticipates opportunities to sell developed projects to third parties and crystallise development value for TRIG. Fig Power may also consider development opportunities in solar PV.
Prudent capital allocation remains a priority for The Renewables Infrastructure Group. Alongside making investments such as Fig Power, the Company is at an advanced stage on divestment activities. Proceeds from these divestments are expected to be applied to reducing RCF borrowings, which were £364m at 31 December 2023.
Richard Crawford, Head of Energy Income Funds at InfraRed Capital Partners, said:
“Flexible capacity, of which battery storage is a key component, is core to the energy transition and important to the rollout of renewables. Batteries, therefore, represent an important investment sector for TRIG, providing diversifying and often complementary revenues to the portfolio.
Adding development capabilities within TRIG’s investment portfolio creates the opportunity to capture higher returns for shareholders and generate a proprietary pipeline through a team that is closely aligned with TRIG’s objectives. Fig Power will leverage the development experience of TRIG’s Managers. InfraRed has a strong track record of investing in flexible energy platforms for over a decade, most recently in Statera Energy. RES has been a pioneer in UK battery storage.
Fig Power also builds on the four development-stage battery investments that TRIG added in 2022. Preliminary construction works on the first of these projects began in January 2024 and we expect to start groundworks on the second project in H2 2024.”
