• A joint acquisition by Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners S.C.Sp and JLEN Environmental Assets Group (UK) Limited
• Annual gross energy production of 126,000 MWh
• Located in the Apulia region of southern Italy

 Click here to access the announcement as a PDF

London, 18 May 2021: Foresight Group Holdings Limited, the listed infrastructure and private equity investment manager, is pleased to announce the acquisition of a 90% equity shareholding in Energie Tecnologie Ambiente S.r.l. (“ETA”). Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners SCSp (“FEIP”) and JLEN Environmental Assets Group Limited (“JLEN”), an environmental infrastructure investment fund managed by Foresight, have each acquired a 45% shareholding in ETA. The seller, Marcegaglia Investments S.r.l., has retained a 10% equity stake. Completion of the investment is subject to a number of conditions precedent, which are expected to be satisfied by the end of May 2021, with the funds investing a combined €53.5m.

Operational since 2012, ETA is a 16.8MW energy-from-waste (“EfW”) power plant which processes Refuse Derived Fuel (“RDF”), produced from household waste. Located in the municipality of Manfredonia in the Apulia region of southern Italy, the EfW plant processes 137,500 tonnes of waste per annum, diverting this from landfill. The plant produces c.126,000 MWh of electricity per year, enough to power approximately 35,500 homes.

ETA generates revenue from several different sources. A combination of gate fees paid by RDF suppliers, incentives from sustainably produced electricity and the sale of electricity to the merchant power market provides ETA with a mix of revenue which mitigates counterparty and price volatility risk. In total, 74% of revenues are backed by long-term contracts or subsidies.

Foresight’s Italian team was instrumental in the execution of the acquisition and will remain closely involved in managing the asset.

 

Commenting on this acquisition, Richard Thompson, Partner at Foresight and Co-Manager of FEIP, said: “We are delighted to add our first energy-from-waste investment to the growing FEIP portfolio. This investment underlines our appetite for a diverse range of energy infrastructure projects that contribute to the transition to a low carbon economy across Europe. As with all investments in the FEIP portfolio, ETA has been externally validated as compliant with the EU Taxonomy, acting as a further endorsement of the project’s contribution to the global sustainability agenda.”

Richard Morse, Chairman of JLEN, said: "We are happy to announce JLEN's investment into this energy-from-waste plant which leverages the knowledge and experience gained in owning a number of bioenergy assets already.  This is JLEN’s first investment in Italy and we look forward to co-owning this locally important asset alongside FEIP and the Seller. 

“We believe that assets such as these provide a vital outlet for non-recyclable waste that would otherwise be sent to landfill, and which can be used to generate baseload power to the grid.  The plant has a strong operational track record and we look forward to working with the existing operations team as a new co-owner."

ENDS

 

For more information please contact:

Robert Woolley, Foresight Group, rwoolley@foresightgroup.eu +44 20 3763 6974

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Foresight Group LLP (“Foresight”):

Foresight is a listed infrastructure and private equity investment manager which has been managing funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients for more than 35 years. Foresight has over £7.0 billion of assets under management across a number of funds, including listed vehicles, Limited Partnerships, Enterprise Investment Schemes, Venture Capital Trusts, Inheritance Tax Solutions and Open-Ended Investment Companies.

Funds managed by Foresight include the ownership of 162 solar projects around the World, 31 onshore wind projects, 43 bioenergy and waste facilities in the UK and Europe and 26 reserve power assets. Foresight also invests in the wider infrastructure sector including hydro, battery storage and waste management and wastewater treatment projects. Together our projects have a potential generating capacity of over 2.7 GW, enough clean renewable electricity to power more than one million UK homes every year. Foresight is headquartered in Guernsey with its principal office in London and international offices in Luxembourg, Rome, Madrid and Sydney.

www.foresightgroup.eu