Heelstone Debt Refinancing

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24 May 2021

US SOLAR FUND PLC ("USF", the "Company")

Heelstone Debt Refinancing

US Solar Fund plc (LON: USF (USD)/USFP (GBP)) has successfully refinanced the existing debt facilities associated with a 177 MW_DC portfolio of 22 projects acquired in 2020 (Heelstone Portfolio). The refinancing transaction required approximately $92m of the $132m recently raised by USF and is consistent with the use of proceeds contemplated in the Company's Prospectus dated 13 April 2021.

Fifth Third Bank National Association will provide a new debt facility which, along with a portion of the proceeds from USF's recent capital raise, will be used to repay all of the existing project level debt. The new debt facility has a tenor of 7 years but is fully amortized over approximately 17 years to match the duration of the underlying power purchase agreements.

The refinancing of these legacy loans reduces the effective interest rate for the Heelstone Portfolio from approximately 6.25% to less than 3% per annum. The base interest rate is fully hedged for the term of the newly issued debt.

This refinancing will benefit USF by lowering overall gearing to approximately 40% (below the long-term target of 50%), reducing sensitivity to changes in key assumptions including long-term power prices, and enhancing dividend coverage. 

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About US Solar Fund plc 

US Solar Fund plc, established in 2019, is listed on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange in April 2019 with a market capitalisation of approximately $340m. The Company's investment objective is to provide investors with attractive and sustainable dividends with an element of capital growth by owning and operating solar power assets in North America and other OECD countries in the America.

The solar power assets that the Company acquires or constructs are expected to have an asset life of at least 30 years and generate stable and uncorrelated cashflows by selling electricity to creditworthy offtakers under long-term power purchase agreements (or PPAs). The Company's portfolio currently consists of 42 operational solar projects with a total capacity of 493MWDC, all located in the United States.

Further information on the Company can be found on its website at http://www.ussolarfund.co.uk.

About the Investment Manager 

USF is managed by New Energy Solar Manager (NESM). NESM also manages New Energy Solar, an Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed fund. NESM manages over US$1.4bn of invested capital across US and Australian solar plants. 

NESM is owned by E&P Funds, the funds management division of E&P Financial Group, an ASX listed company (ASX: EP1) with over A$20 billion of funds under advice.