CEFC Surpasses $1 Billion Mark for Large-Scale Solar Investments

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has recently announced it has surpassed the $1 billion mark for the country’s large-scale solar investments sector following a $51 million stake in the largest photovoltaic (PV) farm in Victoria.
A report published on the website of Renew Economy stated that CEFC confirmed that it has taken a minority stake in the 200-megawatt Kiamal Solar Farm which is under construction by Total Eren.
It also stated that the investment stretched the green bank’s latest drive into equity investments in large scale renewables in addition to past investment in the Ross River Solar Farm in Queensland and Granville Harbour Wind Farm in Tasmania.
The said feat in renewables investment and financing comes less than two weeks following the achievement of the CEFC of reaching the $2 billion milestone for wind finance and investment through the recent funding of the Collector Wind Farm in New South Wales.
Ian Learmonth, CEFC CEO said, “This exciting project will contribute to a stronger and more reliable grid, able to accommodate an increasing share of low emissions solar energy in the future.”
“While Australia’s world-leading potential in solar energy is well known, the reality is that we require considerable new investment to take advantage of this low cost and low emissions energy resource.”
“The CEFC continues to play a central role in working alongside exciting new investors such as Total Eren as a way of increasing the flow of capital into our clean energy transition,” he continued.
Learmonth further added, “We are also seeing new opportunities for the CEFC to invest in projects as an equity partner, allowing us to diversify our own investment portfolio for the longer term.”
The Kiamal Solar Farm is also known for other corporate power off-take agreements it has secured which include Mars Australia and energy retailers Flow Power and Alinta Energy.
According to Learmonth, “The use of multiple power purchase agreements demonstrates the potential for a diverse group of customers to hedge their energy costs while supporting the development of new large-scale renewable energy projects.”
“We are confident this is a model that can be embraced by more manufacturers, commercial enterprises, and government agencies as they explore ways to further control energy costs as well as lower their emissions,” he continued.
Read more about this report here.