Greencoat Capital is busy plotting its next UK solar acquisitions after achieving the first close of its follow-up investment vehicle.   

Greencoat today marked the first close of Greencoat Solar II LP, which sourced £262 million from a number of large corporate pensions schemes in the UK.

Lee Moscovitch, partner at Greencoat Capital, said that the firm had seen “continued strong interest” in it’s offering and revealed that it was making “fast progress” in investing the proceeds.

In September last year Greencoat announced the close of its maiden Greencoat Solar I LP vehicle, raising £295 million from a top tier corporate pension scheme. Having invested the majority of that in a portfolio of 21 separate solar farms from BayWa r.e. and Primrose Solar, Greencoat is now looking to add to its portfolio.

Moscovitch said that Solar II has £130 million worth of investments currently under exclusivity, with further opportunities expected to present themselves.

“We continue to see opportunity for UK solar aggregation in a busy secondary market upwards of £20 billion in size. Given our reputation for execution, and an ability to manage a wide range of assets, we are excited about Greencoat Solar’s prospects – our pipeline is looking very robust,” Moscovitch added.

And Richard Nourse, managing partner at Greencoat Capital and member of Dieter Helm’s ongoing government-backed review of energy costs, said that renewables were no longer “on the periphery” of UK pension funds and were becoming “mainstream investments” for major funds.

“UK Solar PV assets provide the low risk, predictable cash flows, low correlation and inflation-linkage that pension funds want to match their liabilities and close the funding gap.

“Many secure income markets are starting to feel quite crowded but the opportunity for solar to deliver at a substantial premium remains attractive,” he said.