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					</table>Here are some noteworthy cleantech announcements of the day from around the world:
LG Energy Solution and Honda <a href="https://www.lgensol.com/en/company-newsroom-detail?seq=8509" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> they would establish a joint venture to produce lithium-ion batteries in the U.S. to power Honda and Acura EV models for the North American market.  LGES and Honda will invest $4.4 billion in the plant. The plant aims to have an annual production capacity of approximately 40 GWh. The pouch-type batteries produced at the plant will be supplied exclusively to Honda facilities in North America. While the plant location is yet to be finalized, based on Honda’s plans for EV production in North America, the two companies aim to begin construction in early 2023 to enable the mass production of advanced lithium-ion battery cells by the end of 2025.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) <a href="https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-announces-540-million-technologies-transform-energy-production-and-cut-emissions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> more than $540 million in awards for university and National Laboratory-led research into clean energy technologies and low-carbon manufacturing. The awardees include researchers at 54 universities and 11 national laboratories across 34 states and the District of Columbia. More than $400 million will go toward establishing and continuing 43 Energy Frontier Research Centers, which bring together multi-disciplinary scientific teams to tackle the toughest scientific challenges preventing advances in energy technologies. The projects, led by 28 universities and nine national laboratories with more than 75 additional partner institutions, will study everything from energy storage to quantum information science.  In addition, 53 projects led by researchers at 33 universities and 11 national laboratories will receive a combined $140 million through the Chemical and Materials Sciences to Advance Clean Energy Technologies and Low-Carbon Manufacturing funding opportunity.
Energy Efficiency Services (<a href="https://eeslindia.org/en/home/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EESL</a>), through its Smart Meter National Program, has installed over 2.8 million smart meters across Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, and Telangana. The company recently successfully installed over a million smart prepaid meters in Bihar. The company had signed an agreement with South Bihar Power Distribution Company and North Bihar Power Distribution Company to install 23.4 lakh smart prepaid meters in Bihar earlier last year and is expecting to complete the project by February 2023. With the installation of 10 million smart prepaid meters, DISCOMs in Bihar have generated a daily revenue collection of over ₹30 million (~$375,486). The total revenue collected from smart meters in Bihar has crossed ₹10 billion (~$125.15 million).
Independent power company Globeleq will <a href="https://www.globeleq.com/blog/globeleq-partners-with-government-of-egypt-to-develop-a-large-scale-green-hydrogen-project/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">develop</a>, finance, build, own and operate a large-scale green hydrogen project in Egypt. It will be developed in 3 phases, totaling 3.6 GW of electrolyzers and around 9 GW of solar PV and wind power generation.  The first phase will involve a pilot project using a 100 MW electrolyzer. It will initially focus on green ammonia fertilizers while considering other end-uses of green hydrogen in the medium and longer term, including green fuels.  Globeleq intends to enter into long-term off-take agreements with Egyptian and international companies to support their decarbonization plans. To this effect, Globeleq signed a memorandum of understanding with multiple agencies to jointly develop a large-scale green hydrogen facility within the Suez Canal Economic Zone.
Iberdrola is set to <a href="https://www.iberdrola.com/press-room/news/detail/iberdrola-to-commission-1400-new-mw-of-solar-power-in-spain" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commission</a> 1.4 GW of new solar capacity addition in Spain. The company is currently executing 12 photovoltaic projects, with a combined installed capacity of 550 MW. Half of them are located in Extremadura, where Iberdrola is building the Almaraz I and II projects (80 MW), which will be connected to the grid this year, and the Tagus complex in Alcántara, comprising four projects with a total capacity of 200 MW. The company is also building six other facilities in Castilla y León and Andalusia using this technology, totaling 271 MW. These are the Villarino project (50 MW) in Salamanca; the Guillena project (144 MW) in Seville; Cespedera (27 MW) in Cadiz; and Virgen de Aremos III (50 MW) in Palencia. Iberdrola plans to start construction this year on another six projects that will provide 873 MW of new solar power in four autonomous communities— Ciudad Rodrigo (318 MW) in Salamanca; Fuentes (50 MW), Valbuena (50 MW) and Manantiales (30 MW) in Guadalajara; Peñarrubia (50 MW) in Murcia; and Cedillo (375 MW) in Cáceres.
NextEnergy Capital <a href="https://www.nextenergycapital.com/news/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> the first close for NextPower UK ESG at £327 million (~$383 million), which is over 65% of NPUK ESG’s target of £500 million (~$586 million). The fund has a hard cap of £1 billion (~$1.17 billion). The commitments in this first close have been made from investors in the UK and the Middle East, including the UK Infrastructure Bank, LGPS Central Limited, Merseyside Pension Fund, and Brunel Pension Partnership. The UKIB is the cornerstone investor for the fund and plans to invest up to £250 million (~$293 million) on a match funding basis. The fund targets the UK and international institutional investors, with further investors currently in due diligence, and the fundraising period is two years from the first close. The fund targets highly attractive investor returns by creating long-term stable cashflows through a contracted revenue model with robust, credit-worthy power purchase agreements.

Daily News Wrap-Up: LG and Honda to Produce EV Batteries in the US

<a href="https://www.nextenergycapital.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NextEnergy Capital</a> (NEC), an investment firm and asset manager, closed an $896 million fundraise for NextPower III ESG (NPIII ESG), a private fund that focuses on the international solar infrastructure sector, principally targeting projects in selected OECD countries, including the US, Portugal, Spain, Chile, and Poland.
The capital raised is above the target of $750 million and makes this NEC’s largest private fund to date. The capital was committed by a pool of top-tier and diversified investors, including pension funds, insurance companies, fund-of-funds, and family offices. The investor base came from nine countries.
According to the company, including co-investments closed to date, the total capital pool for its investment strategy exceeds $905 million.
NPIII ESG’s current portfolio has an installed capacity of 742 MW spread across 23 projects and two portfolios, having assessed more than 35 GW, while the fund has a further 521 MW in exclusivity and 3 GW under review.
“We are thrilled to announce the final close of NPIII ESG, having secured total capital commitments well above our target of $750 million from new and existing investors. There was enormous investor interest in the fund as investors’ appetite towards solar, ESG, and sustainability funds continued to grow. I am looking forward to the continued development of the fund’s portfolio, given the depth and quality of its current pipeline,” said Michael Bonte-Friedheim, founding partner &amp; chief executive officer at NextEnergy Capital.
According to Mercom’s recently published Q4 2021 solar funding and M&amp;A <a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/product/annual-q4-2021-solar-funding-ma-report/">report</a>, more than $30 billion was raised by 20 newly established funds that focus on renewable energy investments in 2021, compared to $18.1 billion raised by 19 new funds in 2020.
Earlier this month, NextEnergy Capital <a href="https://www.nextenergycapital.com/news/nextenergy-capital-announces-record-fundraise-of-896-million-for-nextpower-iii-esg/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> the sale of the entire portfolio of operating solar projects owned by NextPower II (the Fund) in Italy. The Fund’s portfolio comprises 105 individual solar plants for a total installed capacity of 149 MW. Its projects are located across Italy, in regions including Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Tuscany, Puglia, Sardinia, Calabria, Campania, March, Molise, Abruzzo, and Emilia-Romagna.

NextEnergy Capital Closes $896 Million Fundraise for NextPower III ESG

<a href="https://www.nextenergycapital.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NextEnergy Capital’s</a> institutional solar fund called NextPower III has announced its first acquisition in India.
The company has acquired a 27.4 MW project located in Odisha. The solar project was acquired from IBC SOLAR Energy GmbH, the international project division of IBC SOLAR AG, a solar and energy storage company based in Germany. The project has been in operation since May 2018.
NextEnergy Solar Fund is a listed solar infrastructure investment company focused on the United Kingdom and other OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries. OECD is an intergovernmental economic organization with 37 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade.
NextPower III is a private ESG infrastructure fund established to invest in the international solar sector, specifically to fund the construction and long-term ownership of solar power projects. NextPower III’s target markets comprise mainly OECD countries. According to NextPower III, it has a total of 385 MW of installed solar projects.
The primary goal of the company is to acquire solar projects which are at the ready-to-build status or in operation across high-growth international markets. The company is planning to increase its portfolio in the U.S., Latin America, Southern Europe, and India.
Speaking on the acquisition, Filinto Martins, Managing Director and Head of NextPower III, said, “This acquisition allows NextPower III to further increase its presence globally and enter the Asia Pacific market where we have secured a pipeline of further opportunities. The transaction is another opportunity to execute on an operating asset in a carefully selected country (where the NextEnergy Capital Group has been present for over two years through its asset management company WiseEnergy), at attractive risk-adjusted returns. India has a strong focus on the transition to renewable energy, and we are proud to play a significant part in that.”
Investments in the Indian solar industry totaled $970 million (~₹72.9 billion) in the first quarter (Q1) of 2020, according to Mercom’s <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/q1-2020-india-solar-market-update/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Q1 2020 India Solar Market Update</a>. Investments were 66% lower year-over-year compared to $2.8 billion (~₹195.4 billion) recorded in Q1 2019.
Previously, Mercom had <a href="https://mercomindia.com/ibc-solar-signs-ppa-raises-financing-20-mw-solar-project-odisha/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> that IBC SOLAR had signed a power purchase agreement with Solar Energy Corporation of India for a 20 MW solar project located in Odisha. IBC SOLAR had raised approximately ₹980 million (~$15.3 million) in debt financing for the project from L&amp;T Infrastructure Finance.

NextEnergy Capital Announces its First Solar Acquisition in India From IBC Solar

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