French independent power producer (IPP) Neoen has completed debt financing for a 1.5GW portfolio of solar, wind and battery energy storage assets in Australia.
The portfolio represents AU$1.1 billion (US$721 million) in debt financing and will support the development and construction of projects across five Australian states. In the mix are three solar projects with a collective 777MW of capacity – Numurkah Solar Farm in Victoria (128MW), Western Downs Green Power Hub in Queensland (460MW) and Coleambally Solar Farm in New South Wales (189MW).
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Neoen will also develop four wind power projects and the Collie Battery Stage 1 energy storage project in Western Australia, a 219MW/877MWh 4-hour capacity battery system for which construction is underway and expected to be completed in Q4 2024.
In June 2023, our sister site Energy-storage.news reported that Neoen had begun construction on the Collie project, which the company said could be expanded to reach 1GW/4GWh of energy storage capacity. Neoen said that the project has a 197 MW/4-hour capacity services contract with the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).
The debt raised allows the refinancing of approximately AU$700 million (US$458 million) of single asset-level debt with the remainder dedicated to the financing of new assets. Neoen said. The debt was provided by a group of 11 lenders, including ANZ, HSBC, Bank of China, ING and the Australian government-backed Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).
Neoen said that it is aiming to have 10GW of renewable energy project capacity operational or under construction by 2030. It currently has around 3.5GW, most notably the Western Downs Green Power Hub, which has been dubbed Australia’s ‘largest’ solar project and is also paired with a 270MW/540MWh battery.
Louis de Sambucy, Neoen Australia’s CEO, said: “This transaction demonstrates the unique combined value of our portfolio and strengthens our business model of long-term owner and operator. It provides a solid foundation for achieving our ambition of 10 GW in Australia by 2030.”
A deal of this scale is welcome news for Australia’s solar sector, which has struggled to attract investment for new projects in the last year. Whilst this financing doesn’t represent entirely ‘new’ project plans or capacity – the lack of which prompted the Clean Energy Council (CEC) to say it was “concerned” for the market last August – it marks a significant increase compared with the deals signed in 2023.
Last week, Australian utility Origin Energy acquired developer Walcha Energy and its 1.3GW renewables project pipeline.