Acen Australia secures AU$750 million financing for 13GW renewables, energy storage pipeline
Summary
These organisations were advised on the deal by global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills. Law firm Allens acted as the legal advisor for Acen Australia.Acen Australia managing director David Pollington hailed the financing, stating that it creates a robust funding base for the companys diverse portfolio of wind, solar, pumped hydro and battery storage projects, which includes more than 1,000MW of renewable capacity in operation and under construction, and a further 13GW in development across the National Electricity Market (NEM).Additionally, the financing will support the near-complete 400MW Stubbo Solar project and the 720MW New England solar PV power plant in New South Wales. The New England project supplies energy to Japanese-owned drinks company Asahi Beverages and not-for-profit care company BaptistCare via a power purchase agreement inked in July 2024.It is also set to play an integral role in a tri-party deal that will see industrial gas supplier BOC Australia replace 45% of its grid power needs with solar-derived renewable energy.Meanwhile, the Stubbo PV project is located in the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), which recently set its sights on construction later this year. The panellists talked about aspects of development, including finding sites with nearby grid connections and then achieving grid code compliance, permitting and regulatory bottlenecks and the importance of good community engagement practices.Our publisher, Solar Media, will host the Battery Asset Management Summit Australia 2025 on 26-27 August in Sydney. Tickets can be purchased here.You can read the full article on our sister site PV Tech.