Acquisition of a 28 MW Biomass Combined Heat & Power Plant

JLEN, the listed environmental infrastructure fund, is pleased to announce the acquisition of a 100% equity stake in Cramlington Renewable Energy Developments Ltd (“CRED”), which owns a Biomass Combined Heat and Power plant (“CHP Plant”) and its underlying contracts. The acquisition of CRED, for an undisclosed amount, was made on a debt-free basis and represents JLEN’s first investment into a large-scale biomass CHP Plant.

The CHP Plant is located to the north west of the town of Cramlington in Northumberland and utilises proven technology to process a diversified biomass fuel mix, creating up to 28MW of electrical power and 8MW of heat for export via private wire to industrial customers and the grid.

The CHP Plant has been fully operational since 2018 and earns revenues from: (i) the subsidy regimes of Renewable Obligations Certificates and Renewable Heat Incentive; (ii) the sale of electricity to the market; and (iii) the sale of heat and power via private wire to industrial customers. In aggregate, c. 66% of CRED’s revenues are backed by long-term subsidies and an additional c. 10% via long-term contracts.

This acquisition is in line with JLEN’s strategy to further diversify its portfolio and to secure strong inflation-linked revenue streams.

Richard Morse, Chairman of JLEN, said:

“We are happy to announce JLEN’s first investment into large scale biomass CHP, which leverages the knowledge and experience gained in owning a number of bioenergy assets already.

“We believe that assets such as these provide a sustainable source of renewable heat and power that can be utilised as baseload power to the grid and a direct provision to nearby industrial customers. The plant has a strong operational track record and we look forward to optimising this asset for the future.”