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Infinis
UKUtilities
Overview
Infinis is the largest generator of electricity from landfill gas (“LFG”) in the UK, with a portfolio of 121 landfill sites and total installed capacity of over 300MW.
Alkane Energy acquisition
In March 2018, the Company announced its intention to increase its investment in Infinis by £125 million to fund Infinis’s acquisition of Alkane Energy (‘Alkane’), an independent power generator from both coal mine methane (‘CMM’) and reserve power (‘Peaking’) operations and the largest generator of electricity from CMM in the UK.
Recent developments
Infinis performed strongly in the year, thanks to good operating performance, higher power prices and price volatility which benefitted the power response assets in particular. It has faced some challenges in its Captured Mineral Methane business due to lower engine availability and reliability. Infinis’s cashflows are positively correlated with UK RPI inflation through the index-linked Renewables Obligations Certificate regime.
Infinis continues to deliver on its strategy to grow into a diversified and low-carbon renewable energy player: on the solar front Infinis now has 117MW of consented sites with 97MW expected to commence construction in FY23.
An additional 100MW is currently in the planning process with a longer-term potential for a further 200MW+. It has experienced some delays in solar project development together with higher development costs.
In parallel, Infinis is developing a complementary pipeline of potential battery sites to capitalise on expected continued power price volatility. Infinis has 36MW of projects expected to commence construction in FY23.
Investment rationale
The investment in Infinis is foremost a yield play. Its front-ended cashflows balance other recent investments by the Company in more growth-oriented businesses. Revenues are underpinned by the inflation-linked UK Renewables Obligation Certificate (“ROC”) regime until 2027. Infinis could also become a platform to make new investments in activities such as distributed power generation from other gas sources, distributed energy storage by exploiting the business’s spare engine and grid connection capacity, and additional landfill gas sites.
Infinis and its market
Infinis is the largest generator of electricity from LFG in the UK, with a portfolio of 121 landfill sites and total installed capacity of over 300MW. LFG is produced by decomposing organic matter in landfill sites. If released into the atmosphere unchecked, LFG contributes to pollution and is a potent greenhouse gas. By extracting LFG from landfill sites, Infinis fulfils an essential role in helping landfill operators meet their environmental compliance obligations. By using the collected LFG to generate electricity, Infinis supplies distribution networks with a consistent source of baseload power.
Sustainability
Infinis continues to make good progress on its sustainability agenda. Its targets have been aligned to its ambition to meet the growing energy demand whilst reducing industry emissions, support the transition to new renewable energy sources and grow a clean low-carbon economy whilst also taking care to safeguard biodiversity and manage natural resources responsibly.