Via PV Tech, Australian power firm AGL Energy (AGL) has sold its 102 megawatts Nyngan and 53 megawatts Broken Hill solar plants to the Powering Australian Renewables Fund (PARF) for $257 million.
Last July, AGL partnered Australian investment manager QIC and its clients the Future Fund and the QIC Global Infrastructure Fund to create the PARF fund, which is aiming to fulfil up to 20% of Australia’s Renewable Energy Target for 2020.
To reach the target, the goal is to own a $2-3 billion worth of large-scale renewable energy projects that will total to more than 1 gigawatts in combined capacity.
The two solar farms represent the PARF scheme’s first ever acquisition. AGL is writing a long-term off-take agreement with the Nyngan and Broken Hill plants as part of the sale. Westpac, NAB, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo banking Corporation and BNP Paribas have all acted as lenders to the transaction.
Andy Vesey, the AGL managing director and chief executive said that they are very encouraged by the level of interest and the calibre of lenders who wants to get involved in the PARF. AGL created the Fund to help kick-start the investment deadlock in renewable projects by providing an innovative financing platform where like-minded organisations can share the investment risk over the medium-to-long term. He also said that the PARF has acquired the Nyngan and broken Hill solar plants as seed assets ahead of schedule and they are confident of announcing the first new renewable project build ahead of the original march 2017 target.
AGL and QIC plan to continue growing their renewable energy asset portfolio through their special PARF fund. AGL’s two planned wind farms in Coopers Gap, Queensland and in Silverton, NSW are expected to be the next two projects offered to the Fund. Initially, AGL provided $200 million in equity funding to the PARF, while QIC provided $800 million on behalf of its clients.
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