Recurrent Energy, the renewable energy developer arm of solar manufacturer Canadian Solar, has reached financial close on a 171MW solar-plus-storage project in Victoria, Australia.
The Carwarp Energy Park, which will feature a 120MW battery energy storage system (BESS) as part of the project’s second stage, is expected to reach commercial operation in 2026. The duration of the BESS has not been revealed. The PV plant will see 243,000 Canadian Solar PV modules installed.
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Recurrent’s energy park will be constructed in the northwestern part of Victoria near the Carwarp, a small agricultural town around 504km from state capital Melbourne. It will connect to the National Electricity Market (NEM) and provide around 405GWh of green energy annually.
A long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) has also been signed for the project. Although the company’s name was not disclosed, Recurrent specified that it was with a multinational corporate off-taker.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, Westpac Banking Corporation, and Société Générale, Sydney Branch will provide financing for the solar PV project.
Ismael Guerrero, CEO of Recurrent Energy, said the project will help promote the compay’s growth in the APAC region.
“We are very pleased to reach financial close for the Carwarp project and to continue supporting renewable energy globally. We look forward to continued growth within the APAC region and thank all our partners for their ongoing support,” Guerrero said.
It should be noted that this is not Recurrent’s first solar PV plant in Australia. The company was behind the development of the Suntop Solar and Gunnedah PV plants in New South Wales, which have a generating capacity of 150MW and 110MW, respectively. The power plants were sold in 2022 to CalEnergy Resources, a subsidiary of United Kingdom-based electrical distribution company Northern Powergrid.
Earlier this month, the company signed a PPA with an unnamed US tech company for a 300MW solar project in northern Spain called Tordesillas.
In its parent company’s financial results for Q3 2024, Recurrent Energy was shown to have a total global solar project pipeline of 26GWp and an energy storage pipeline of 66GWh.
The company’s development pipeline was supported by US$500 million in financing secured earlier this year by an investment with asset manager BlackRock. The financing was completed in two phases, with the second financing payment completed in October 2024.
