SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust plc (SEEIT), managed by Sustainable Development Capital LLP, is the first and largest UK-listed company of its kind to invest exclusively in the energy efficiency sector.

SEEIT invests in projects that either provide decentralised on-site generation of power and heat, reduce energy demand or contribute to green energy distribution focused on contracts with essential industries in North America, Europe, the UK and Asia. This can include roof-top solar, recycled energy projects or combined heat and power plants. These projects can improve the efficiency of energy from 30% to over 80%. Examples of projects include:

• Red Rochester: one of North America's largest district energy systems, providing utility services to commercial and industrial customers within the Eastman Business Park in New York. Since 2016, Red has delivered more than 40 energy efficiency projects resulting in annual savings of over $4 million and carbon savings of over 50%.
• Primary Energy provides electricity and steam to steel blast furnaces in the US. The energy is generated by utilising waste heat and gas from steel mills (one of the country's largest energy users) or natural gas which is supplied to a highly efficient combined heat and power system. To date, the project has generated 1,500 GWh of clean energy, saved 76,000 tonnes of CO2 and supported 35 jobs.
• Vartan Gas: an essential infrastructure service that helps to reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions for Stockholm's energy grid. In the past year, the composition of the gas supplied through the network rose from c.80% to 90% biogas and continues to align with national and regional strategies to attain carbon neutrality by 2040.

Despite challenging market conditions impacting the share prices of London-listed renewable investment trusts over the past two years, SEEIT is on track to deliver fully cash covered aggregate dividends of 6.24p per share for the financial year to 31 March 2024. At SEEIT's current share price (as of 26 June 2024), this offers a dividend yield of nearly 10%.

Jonathan Maxwell, chief executive of Sustainable Development Capital LLP, investment manager of SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust, said: “It is a great honour for SEEIT to be selected as the Renewables fund of the year. Energy efficiency is the fastest, cheapest and most reliable solution to reducing global carbon emissions, and it is positive to see that Environmental Finance recognises the scale of this issue and the work SEEIT is doing to solve it.”

The editor of Environmental Finance owns shares in SEEIT.