29 January 2024
Downing Renewables &
Infrastructure Trust plc
Acquisition of Five Swedish
Hydropower Plants
The Board of Downing Renewables
& Infrastructure Trust plc (the "Company" or "DORE") is pleased to announce the
acquisition of five hydropower plants located in Sweden with a
combined expected annual average production of c. 9 GWh for a total
investment of c. £6.0m (EUR 6.7m). The acquisitions were funded
using Downing Hydro AB's long-term debt facility and completed in
December 2023.
The assets are located in Sweden's
SE2 and SE3 pricing regions and all plants benefit from meaningful
reservoir capacity that allows for better water storage and
management to optimise production.
The hydropower plant in the SE3
pricing region is located on the Säveån river in south-west Sweden,
which is a new geographical area and river system, further
diversifying the portfolio across different water catchment
areas.
The Company's hydropower portfolio
now has 34 assets with a forecast annual average production of c.
215 GWh.
Hydropower frequency market
upgrades
Downing Hydro AB has continued the
roll-out of software and hardware upgrades across its portfolio to
allow the relevant hydropower plants to participate in the
frequency containment markets in addition to their electricity
generation activities.
As at end of December 2023, the
hardware had been installed at 20 plants and the first submission
to the Swedish Transmission Operator (SvK) for pre-qualification
had been made. The residual sites are expected to be submitted for
pre-qualification during the first quarter of 2024. The Company
expects that the pre-qualification approval process will be
finalised and nearly all relevant facilities will be phased into
the Frequency Containment Reserves (FCR) markets during the first
and second quarters of 2024.
Tom
Williams, Partner, Head of Energy and Infrastructure at Downing
LLP, commented: "Following our
recent Icelandic hydropower acquisition, we are pleased to add
another five hydro plants to the DORE portfolio. We are also
delighted with the progress of the software and hardware upgrades
to the hydropower fleet and hope to see the first facilities
participating in the Swedish frequency markets this
quarter."
ENDS
Contact details:
Downing LLP - Investment Manager to the
Company
Tom Williams
|
+44 (0)20 3954 9908
|
Singer Capital Markets - Joint Corporate
Broker
Robert Peel, Alaina Wong, Jalini
Kalaravy (Investment Banking)
Sam Greatrex, Alan Geeves, James
Waterlow, William Gumpel (Sales)
|
+44 (0)20 7496 3000
|
Winterflood Securities Limited - Joint Corporate
Broker
|
+44 (0)20 3100 0000
|
|
|
Neil Morgan (Corporate
Finance)
Darren Willis, Andrew Marshall
(Sales)
|
|
|
|
TB
Cardew - Public relations advisor to the Company
Ed Orlebar
Tania Wild
|
+44 (0)20 7930 0777
+44 (0)7738 724 630 / +44 (0)7425
536 903
DORE@tbcardew.com
|
About Downing Renewables & Infrastructure Trust plc
(DORE)
DORE is a closed-end investment
trust that aims to provide investors with an attractive and
sustainable level of income, with an element of capital growth, by
investing in a diversified portfolio of renewable energy and
infrastructure assets in the UK and Northern Europe. DORE has been
awarded the London Stock Exchange's Green Economy Mark in
recognition of its contribution to the global 'Green Economy' and
also in 2022 DORE won 'Renewables Fund of the Year' at the
Sustainable Investment Awards.
The Board classifies DORE as a
sustainable fund with a core objective of accelerating the
transition to net zero through its investments, compiling and
operating a diversified portfolio of renewable energy and
infrastructure assets to help facilitate the transition to a more
sustainable future. The Company believes that this directly
contributes to climate change mitigation.
DORE's strategy, which focuses on
diversification by geography, technology, revenue and project
stage, is designed to increase the stability of revenues and the
consistency of income to shareholders. For further details please
visit www.doretrust.com
LEI: 2138004JHBJ7RHDYDR62
About Downing LLP
Downing is a responsible investment
manager established in London in 1986. We currently manage £1.9
billion of assets under a broad range of investment mandates across
our funds, investment trusts and tax-efficient products. As a
certified B Corporation, we are focussed on creating a sustainable
future, our key investment areas are renewable energy,
infrastructure, property and healthcare.
Downing has c.60 professionals
dedicated to renewable energy and infrastructure and a proven track
record in renewables. Since 2010, Downing has made more than 180
investments in this sector, with over £850 million of assets under
management.
This announcement is not for
publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the
United States of America. This announcement is not an offer of
securities for sale into the United States. The securities referred
to herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S.
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold
in the United States, except pursuant to an applicable exemption
from registration. No public offering of securities is being made
in the United States.
For further details please
visit www.downing.co.uk