Bluefield Solar Income Fund (LSE:BSIF) has sold a 250 megawatt portfolio of solar and battery storage assets to its partnership with GLIL Infrastructure, marking the third phase of a strategy to recycle capital while expanding its development pipeline.
The London-listed renewable energy fund said the assets had been transferred to Lyceum Solar, a vehicle 25% owned by Bluefield and 75% by GLIL, a consortium of UK local authority pension funds and Nest.
GLIL’s stake was valued at about £38 million, with £28 million payable immediately and a further £10 million contingent on project milestones expected over the next year. Bluefield said the valuation was consistent with its March net asset value.
Proceeds will go towards repaying part of the company’s revolving credit facility and funding new developments.
The package of assets included Mauxhall Farm, a hybrid project with 44.5 megawatts of solar already operating and 25 megawatts of battery storage under construction, as well as four ready-to-build solar schemes totalling 180 megawatts.
Three of those have secured government-backed contracts for difference, which guarantee a fixed power price.
The transaction will reduce Bluefield’s operational capacity from 883 megawatts to 850 megawatts, of which 745 megawatts are fully owned and 105 megawatts represent its stake in Lyceum’s portfolio.
John Scott, chair of Bluefield Solar, said the partnership with GLIL had built “one of the premier solar and battery portfolios in the UK” in less than two years, combining growth with inflation-linked returns.
Jonathan Ord, head of investment at GLIL, said the deal fitted with its mandate to support core UK infrastructure that delivers “a positive economic impact and inflation-linked returns for our members”.