Australia-based firm Carnegie Clean Energy Limited plans to sell its solar, storage and micro-grid division to Tag Pacific Limited, which will result in the formation of a significant EPC company.
The sale of Carnegie’s microgrid unit called Energy Made Clean (EMC) will result in the creation of a new Tag subsidiary named MPower focusing on the off-grid and fringe-of-grid solar, battery and microgrid markets. MPower will have more than 130 staff on both coasts of the country with a strong presence in Western Australia and New South Wales as well as having active projects across the rest of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.
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Upon completion of the transaction, Carnegie will continue as a renewable energy company focusing on commercialising its CETO wave energy technology. It will also retain 100% ownership of the Garden Island microgrid, and its current 50% ownership of the Northam Solar Farm, one of the first utility-scale PV projects to be developed on a merchant basis in Western Australia.
CEO and managing director of Carnegie, Dr Michael Ottaviano said: “This is a compelling opportunity to unlock the significant potential from the microgrid market in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, bringing together two of the leading entities in Australia to create a national champion.
“A scrip based merger of EMC with MPower provides Carnegie shareholders with direct ownership of a specialist microgrid market leader and a strong financial platform for the 2019 financial year and beyond. The Carnegie board believes this is a more compelling alternative for shareholders than an organic growth strategy with EMC which would require additional working capital over a longer time frame.”
Tag CEO, Nathan Wise, said: “We are excited by the opportunity to bring together two leading renewable and battery storage businesses and to welcome Carnegie’s shareholders into our group.”
“The microgrid market is growing rapidly and consolidation in the sector is inevitable. The enlarged MPower business will be well placed to take a leadership position and dominate this market. We have plans to grow the combined group rapidly across our EPC, Build Own Operate (BOO) and Products divisions. We also plan to establish a dedicated vehicle to house our BOO solar and battery energy storage assets as they are developed.”
