Spark Infrastructure has fully acquired the 120-megawatt Bomen Solar Farm project in New South Wales.
The seller was developer Renew Estate, which is partly owned by German developer Wirsol Energy.
It is the firm’s first renewable energy asset, part of its “Value Build” strategy, which seeks to move beyond owning just regulated network assets into a high renewables and decentralized grid.
“The project is our first step towards our goal of building a business platform in adjacent essential service infrastructure focused on renewable energy,” CEO Rick Francis said in a statement. “It is evidence of our commitment to invest in Australia’s renewable energy future through 100 percent ownership of contracted renewable generation, and adds to our commitment to renewables through our existing electricity transmission and distribution businesses.”
Construction is scheduled to commence in second quarter 2019 and will be carried out by Melbourne-based Beon Energy Solutions, which is owned by Victoria Power Networks, in which Spark Infrastructure has an ownership interest of 49 percent. A total cost at completion is expected to amount to approximately $188 million. Commercial operations are slated to commence in second quarter 2020.
The project, near Wagga Wagga, has a power purchase agreement (PPA) in place with Westpac to purchase just over a quarter of Bomen’s output for the first 10 years of operation.
Westpac said the PPA agreement will enable it to reach its commitment to source the equivalent of 100 percent of its global electricity consumption through renewable sources by 2025.
Additionally, Bomen has an off-take arrangement in place with Flow Power, a business energy retailer, to purchase a portion of the power that will be generated by it for up to 10 years.
