Bluefield Solar Income Fund (BSIF)

BSIF is the UK's oldest renewable energy investment company, celebrating 10 years of trading this year. Over that period, the company has delivered steady capital growth and dividends from an expanding portfolio of long-life solar assets in the UK, now made up of more than 750MW of operational solar generation. Total returns since inception stand at over 100%, and the company offers a handsome dividend yield while benefitting from two-thirds of its total assets being linked to RPI for 15 years. The company has recently altered its remit to include other forms of renewable generation including wind power and battery storage. The latter is particularly complementary to the portfolio, bringing the ability to store energy and smooth out the intermittent generating profile of renewable assets to allow them to offer baseload-style generation. The company currently has 365MW of battery storage projects under development, along with 950MW of solar at various stages of the planning, development and build process - more than enough to ensure a steady flow of future dividends. BSIF is a long-standing constituent of many of our portfolios. In this interview we talk to James Armstrong of Bluefield Partners, which manages BSIF, about how the trust's unique vertically integrated model allows it to deliver market-leading returns; the company's development plans, and the importance of battery storage within them; how it's navigated the recent volatility in energy and capital markets; and what needs to happen on the policy front to support the UK's Net Zero and energy security ambitions.