The NextPower UK ESG (NPUK ESG) fund, managed by Next Energy Capital (NEC) has reached its first close at GBP327 million (US$382.30 million). The UK Infrastructure Bank has committed to invest GBP162.5 million (US$189.98 million) at the first close.

The fund has a target size of GBP500 million (US$584.56 million) and a hard cap of GBP1 billion (US$1.16 billion). The Fund intends to double the amount of subsidy-free solar power in the UK. It will invest exclusively in solar plants based in the UK and, at hard cap, will enable the construction of up to 60 subsidy-free solar plants across the country, with the capacity to provide up to 2 GW of clean electricity annually enough to power 500,000 households per year.