CEO appointment

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13 August 2021

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

CEO appointment

US Solar Fund plc (LON: USF (USD)/USFP (GBP)) advises that its investment manager, New Energy Solar Manager (NESM), has appointed Liam Thomas as its new CEO, effective from 1 October 2021.

Liam is the current Chief Investment Officer of NESM. He joined NESM in March 2016 and has overseen the acquisition and construction of utility-scale solar asset portfolios for USF and New Energy Solar, the Australian-listed fund also managed by NESM. Liam has 17 years of experience in the renewable energy, infrastructure, and agribusiness sectors including roles with Origin Energy, Aurizon, and Orica.

Liam succeeds John Martin who is taking up a position as CEO of Windlab Pty Ltd, a global renewable energy development company. John's last day with NESM will be 30 September 2021.       

Gill Nott, Chair of USF, commented: "The Board would like to congratulate Liam on his new appointment as CEO of NESM, the investment manager of USF, and also thank John for all his efforts since USF's IPO." 

Liam Thomas said: "I am excited to be assuming the role of CEO of NESM. I look forward to continuing to work with the USF Board to grow the Company into a leading investor in US solar infrastructure."

For further information, please contact:

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.