JLEN, the listed environmental infrastructure fund, is pleased to announce the acquisition of a 45% equity stake in Energie Tecnologie Ambiente S.r.l. (“ETA”). ETA is a 16.8MW energy-from-waste (“EfW”) power plant (“the EfW Plant”) which processes Refuse Derived Fuel (“RDF”), located in the municipality of Manfredonia in the Apulia region of southern Italy. The €26.75m investment has been made alongside Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners SCSp (“FEIP”), which will also acquire a 45% equity stake. ETA is owned by Marcegaglia Investments S.r.l. (the “Seller”) which will retain a 10% equity stake in the EfW Plant. Completion of this acquisition is subject to a number of conditions which are expected to be finalised by the end of May 2021.

The EfW Plant, which utilises proven technology, has been fully operational since 2012 and earns revenues from: (i) gate fees paid by RDF suppliers to ETA; (ii) incentives related to producing electricity from renewable energy; and (iii) the sale of electricity to the market. In aggregate, c. 74% of ETA’s revenues are considered to be backed by long-term contracts or subsidies.

This acquisition represents JLEN’s first investment in Italy, further diversifying its portfolio, geographic exposure and revenue base. The Company’s Investment Adviser’s Italian team was instrumental in the execution of the acquisition and will remain closely involved in the management of the asset.

Richard Morse, Chairman of JLEN, said:

“We are happy to announce JLEN’s investment into this energy-from-waste plant which leverages the knowledge and experience gained in owning a number of bioenergy assets already. This is JLEN’s first investment in Italy and we look forward to co-owning this locally important asset alongside FEIP and the Seller.

“We believe that assets such as these provide a vital outlet for non-recyclable waste that would otherwise be sent to landfill, and which can be used to generate baseload power to the grid. The plant has a strong operational track record and we look forward to working with the existing operations team as a new co-owner.”

Below is an interview with the investment team, Chris Tanner & Chris Holmes who talk us through the highlights from the recent interim results