NextEnergy Capital has raised $896m (€774m) for its solar infrastructure investment fund.

NextEnergy said the amount raised for NextPower III ESG (NPIII ESG) exceeds the fund’s $750m target, making the NPIII ESG fund NextEnergy’s largest private fund to date.

The manager said capital was committed by a diversified investor base, including pension funds, insurance companies, fund-of-funds and family offices across nine countries.

As previously reported, an unnamed German pension fund, a UK institutional investor and fund manager Derigo were among investors committing to NPIII ESG.

NPIII targets projects in selected OECD countries, including the US, Portugal, Spain, Chile and Poland.

NPIII ESG’s portfolio currently has an installed capacity of 742MW spread across 23 projects and 2 portfolios, having assessed in excess of 35GW, while the fund has a further 521MW in exclusivity and 3GW under review, the manager said.

NextEnergy said it has just divested its entire NextPower II solar portfolio in Italy comprising 105 plants and an installed capacity of 149MW for an enterprise value in excess of €730m.

Michael Bonte-Friedheim, Group CEO and Founding Partner, said: “We are thrilled to announce the final close of NPIII ESG, having secured total capital commitments well above our target of $750m from new and existing investors.

“There was an enormous amount of investor interest in the fund as investors’ appetite towards solar, ESG and sustainability funds continued to grow.”

Shane Swords, managing director and head of investor relations, said: “The fundraising total is made even more momentous given the backdrop of the global pandemic which meant that the majority of our investor due diligence and onboarding was virtual, so it is a real testament to the team that we successfully fundraised and reassured investors during this unprecedented time.

”The solar industry continues to show enormous potential and I’m looking forward to announcing further capital commitments for our private funds, notably NextPower UK ESG, in the coming months.”

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