CEFC delivers further boost to renewable energy in New South Wales

3 April 2017

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation will invest a further $80 million in renewable energy in regional New South Wales, bringing to $350 million the amount of finance the CEFC has committed to the State's renewable energy sector in just four months.

The latest CEFC commitment will help accelerate the development and delivery of the $236 million 113 MW Bodangora wind farm, near Wellington in the state's central west. It is the CEFC's second major investment in wind generation in regional NSW in the past year, following its recent commitment of $120 million to the $588 million Sapphire Wind Farm near Glen Innes.

In February, the CEFC committed a further $150 million to accelerate the construction of three large-scale solar farms in NSW, to be built in Dubbo, Parkes and Griffith. The solar projects have a combined value of $230 million.

"With these projects we are seeing regional New South Wales capitalising on its natural strengths in renewable energy, contributing to a substantial increase in the state's clean energy capacity," CEFC Wind sector lead Andrew Gardner said.

"New South Wales has set an aspirational goal targeting net zero carbon emissions by 2050. This will require significant new investment in large-scale renewable energy projects such as Bodangora.

"Once operational, the Bodangora wind farm is expected to produce enough energy to meet the needs of over 49,000 homes, making an important contribution to the renewable energy capacity in New South Wales.  Importantly, the project will also deliver regional employment opportunities and support local communities through funding and sponsorship of local initiatives."

EnergyAustralia will purchase 60 per cent of Bodangora's energy generation to 2030, with the balance of the project's output to be actively managed within Infigen's energy markets risk framework.

Germany's Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (NORD/LB) bank is also making its first wind financing in Australia, as a co-lender to the Bodangora project.

CEFC project lead Bobby Vidakovic said: "By supporting projects such as Bodangora, which have an element of merchant energy price risk, we are delivering a tailored financing model that supports the developer's needs as well as mitigates risk to the lender.

"We welcome the recent entry of NORB/LB to the Australian renewable energy market, which is creating an additional source of finance for large-scale renewable energy projects. We hope to see increasing participation from commercial lenders in the future as the economics of these projects gain strength."

Infigen Energy's Managing Director Ross Rolfe said: "Building Bodangora wind farm is the first significant milestone in delivering on Infigen's growth ambitions.

"We have been delighted to work with our partners in bringing this project to fruition. Critical to our success has been the role played by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and NORD/LB, in providing Infigen with debt facilities."

Bodangora will include 33 General Electric (GE) 3.43MW turbines and it is targeted to be fully operational in the second half of 2018.

Bodangora wind farm will be built by a consortium comprising General Electric (GE) and civil-engineering construction company Civil & Allied Technical Construction (CATCON) under an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract.

Infigen said the project would make direct community payments of approximately $2.7 million over the course of construction and operation, including contributions to a Community Enhancement Fund, administered by the Bodangora Community Consultation Committee, and a Community Benefit Fund and road maintenance fees administered by the Dubbo Regional Council.

ABOUT INFIGEN ENERGY

Infigen is an active participant in the Australian energy market. It is a developer, owner and operator of renewable energy generation assets delivering energy solutions to Australian businesses and large retailers. Infigen owns 557 MW of installed generation capacity operating in New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia and sells the energy and Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGCs) through a combination of medium and long term contracts and through the spot market. Infigen is looking to develop further renewable energy projects in response to the strong demand for renewable energy and decreasing cost of development. It has a number of projects that offer near-term development opportunities. Infigen Energy trades on the Australian Securities Exchange under the code IFN. For further information please visit www.infigenenergy.com