NextEnergy Solar Fund Ltd's (LSE:NESF) investment director talked with Proactive about the company's strong interim results and outlook for 2026. Stephen Rosser outlined a period of significant operational performance, including 627 gigawatt hours generated in the six months to September. This figure was supported by solar irradiation being 13% ahead of forecast, resulting in generation outperforming by 7.6%.
Rosser said, “We generated 627 gigawatt hours in the period. Solar irradiation was about 13% ahead of forecast, which put our generation ahead by 7.6%.” This contributed an additional £2.50 million in cash for the period, driven by a disciplined approach to asset management and proactive replacement of aging infrastructure such as inverters.
The interview also covered the appointment of Tony Quinlan as chair, following an independent board selection process. Rosser emphasized Quinlan’s experience in the UK electricity market and renewables as a valuable asset to the company's leadership.
Rosser confirmed that NextEnergy Solar Fund has responded to the UK government's ROC/FiT consultation, urging no change to legacy schemes, citing concerns about investor confidence and consumer costs.
Looking ahead, Rosser spoke about the ongoing strategic review and a continued focus on disciplined capital structure and capital recycling, now in its fourth phase. He highlighted the fund’s dividend performance, with £419 million declared or paid since IPO.
Proactive: Yeah. So much stuff going on in the company. I got a lot to ask you about, so let's get right to it. First off, you've released your set of interim results. Let's start there. Are you happy with what you're seeing so far?
Stephen Rosser: Yeah, a really strong set of results for the six-month period to the end of September. The portfolio outperformed during the period from a generation perspective. That generated an additional £2.50 million in cash, which is obviously good news. And we carry on our work to optimise the assets within the portfolio to really capture those opportunities to the upside.
Proactive: Tell me a bit about this outperformance. That's obviously very positive.
Stephen Rosser: Yeah, it is. We worked really hard across the team, including the asset manager, to make sure that we can deliver that. The first half of the year — spring and summer in the UK — was very bright, very sunny, so that obviously helps. But we also have to work hard to make sure that the assets are available and performing, and converting that into generation.
We generated 627 gigawatt hours in the period. Solar irradiation was about 13% ahead of forecast, which put our generation ahead by 7.6%. The important part of that is making sure that the assets are performing, that we're managing spare parts, and replacing important components like inverters. Given the age of the assets, they are now reaching the point in their life where they need replacing. We do that in a systematic, well-thought-out, well-planned way on a rolling five-year program. We've done eight of those so far, with two more coming through in the period itself.
Proactive: You've appointed Tony Quinlan to the board. He is now the chair as well. Can you talk to me a little bit about his background and why this is so significant for the company?
Stephen Rosser: That's right. Tony was appointed following an independent selection process run by the independent directors on the board. He brings very extensive leadership and governance experience to his new role. He's previously been CFO at Drax Group plc, where he led the transformation of the group from coal to sustainable biomass. That means he brings significant knowledge of the UK electricity market and renewables.
He was also CEO at Laird plc and is a non-executive director on a couple of other companies. We're really excited to welcome Tony to NextEnergy Solar Fund and are looking forward to working with him going forward.
Proactive: Absolutely. I just want to try to get an update on the strategic review that was announced earlier this year. Are you able to provide any updates?
Stephen Rosser: Yes. The board announced a strategic review over the summer. We've been working closely in partnership with them through the bones of that process. Through it, we’ve established a very robust framework for assessing different opportunities, all focused on enhancing and capturing additional shareholder value.
Now that Tony is on board, I think you can expect to hear more from us on that in the new year.
Proactive: Okay. We look forward to hearing that. The ROC/FiT consultation deadline was this week. Was there a response submitted?
Stephen Rosser: Yes. NextEnergy Capital and NextEnergy Solar Fund have responded directly to that consultation. We are urging the government not to change those legacy schemes. This is very important for protecting investor confidence, ensuring market certainty, and also managing consumer bills. We see a very different set of impacts from what the government may be predicting.
Those responses are available on the website. There's a separate area there where you can read what we’ve submitted. These are just proposals at this stage, and we don't know whether anything will actually be implemented. But we have published some sensitivities to show how the different proposals would affect the business if they were introduced.
Proactive: So obviously, Stephen, we're in December, wrapping up 2025 and heading into 2026. It sounds like 2026 will be even busier.
Stephen Rosser: Yes. 2026 is lining up to be a good year. Our focus for the fund is to ensure we’re set up for long-term sustainable success and growth — both in NAV and shareholder returns. That’s a key focus of the strategic review.
It’s important that we maintain our disciplined approach to capital structure and gearing, with a focus on repayment of long-term and short-term debt. That’s being supported by the capital recycling programme, which is now in its fourth phase and progressing well. We’re looking forward to updating more on that in due course.
Proactive: It sounds like you’ve shared some good insight for potential new investors.
Stephen Rosser: Absolutely. The NESF portfolio is really carefully curated. It’s solid, diversified across the UK and internationally, and highly productive. As we've seen from the outperformance in the first half of this year, it’s performing very well.
The UK is one of the most mature and competitive solar markets in the world. Solar remains the cheapest form of renewable energy that can be deployed at speed and scale. There are sizable opportunities ahead, especially with the policy momentum around Clean Power 2030 and ambitions to decarbonise the grid. NextEnergy Solar Fund can play a big role in this, leveraging its historic track record and that of NextEnergy Capital.
So far, we’ve declared or paid £419.00 million in ordinary dividends to shareholders since IPO. That’s a strong track record, and we look forward to continuing that in the years ahead.
Proactive: Well, exciting times ahead for sure. Stephen, thank you so much. Good to get an update on where the company’s at. We look forward to our next conversation.