Golden Plains Wind Farm to help accelerate grid decarbonisation
Enough power for every home in regional Victoria
The CEFC commitment of up to $222.5 million into Stage 1 of Golden Plains Wind Farm in Victoria crowds in investment from commercial banks to fast track the construction of this major renewable energy asset.
$222.5m
CEFC commitment
Crowding in
private sector capital
~23 mtCO2-e
lifetime abatement
We are delighted to work with the CEFC in our first investment in Australia. The CEFC’s ten years of experience developing Australia’s wind farm sector, combined with our deep expertise, enthusiasm, and commitment to this market, will bring long-term benefits to Australia, through clean energy generation, emissions reduction and economic opportunities.Franck WoitiezCEO, TagEnergy
Our investment
The CEFC has committed a total of up to $222.5 million to develop stage 1 of the Golden Plains Wind Farm – known as Golden Plains Wind Farm East.
The development was named Asia Pacific Renewables Deal of the Year in the 2022 Project Finance International Awards, which recognise excellence and innovation in project finance transactions around the world and was named among the Global Trade Review Best Deals 2023.
Golden Plains Wind Farm, near Geelong, was the first fully merchant wind farm in Australia to be financed by commercial lenders, with a $175 million CEFC commercial debt package crowding in an additional $1.8 billion of private sector capital.
Debt providers include Westpac, Bank of China, Mizuho, German state-owned investment bank KfW, Commonwealth Bank, and Danish Credit Export Agency EKF, while clean energy investor TagEnergy has provided 100 per cent of the equity in what is its first Australian investment.
Global furniture giant Ikea has stated that its investment arm Ingka Investments plans to take a 15 per cent stake in Golden Plains Wind Farm East as part of Ikea’s plan to become carbon positive by 2030.
The CEFC committed a further $47.5 million to the development in April 2023. Early construction works began in January 2023 and by February 2024 the first turbines had been installed.
The investment reflects the long term and successful CEFC investment strategy of supporting clean energy projects ahead of securing power purchase agreements. By offering a financial bridge between development and contracting, we can fast track the construction of these vital assets and make a meaningful contribution to emissions reduction.Joe HarberHead of Wind Investment, CEFC
our impact
Closing the financing gap
CEFC investment expertise is helping the clean energy sector overcome significant headwinds, including supply-chain issues, rising prices and higher interest rates. Critically, the CEFC investment draws in substantial new investors at a time when Australia is accelerating its renewable energy ambitions.
Major industry players sign up
Since finance on a merchant basis was secured, the project has generated strong interest from energy users, with some 60 per cent of the electricity and large-scale generation certificates (LGCs) to be produced by Golden Plains Wind Farm - East contracted by February 2024.
Snowy Hydro signed an offtake agreement in August 2023 to take 40 per cent of the LGCs generated and digital infrastructure company Equinix agreed in February 2024 to take 20 per cent.
Project developer TagEnergy said it was continuing to negotiate further power purchase agreements as part of its strategy of progressively contracting the project’s energy production during construction and operation.
A landmark abatement project
The Golden Plains Wind Farm project represents the largest single emissions abatement transaction for the CEFC to date. Golden Plains Wind Farm – East will include 122 wind turbines and generate 756.4 MW of clean energy to replace coal-fired generation.
The estimated annual emissions abatement is an average 770,000 tonnes CO2-e, or more than 23 million tonnes CO2-e over the project’s 30-year lifetime. TagEnergy estimates that when both East and West stages are complete the 1,300 MW Golden Plains Wind Farm will generate enough clean energy to power more than 750,000 homes, the equivalent of every home in regional Victoria.
