According to Simon Curie, Norton Rose Fulbright’s global head of energy, 2017 is the year when solar in Australia comes of age and the prediction that the country will become the Saudi Arabia of solar will start to be true as multiple law firms acted on the closing of a major deal for projects in Victoria and Queensland.
NRF has advised international solar energy firm Wirsol Energy on the acquisition and the project financing of a portfolio of three large-scale PV projects in Queensland and Victoria. Under this deal, Wirsol acquired the 57.5 megawatt Whitsunday project and the 57.5 megawatt Hamilton project in Queensland and the 50-megawatt Gannawarra project in Victoria. The projects are being developed by Edify Energy and are funded by $231M in project financing from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Clean Energy Finance Corporation and NordLB.
In addition to a $9.5M funding from ARENA, the Whitsunday solar farm is supported by the Queensland Government through a 20-year power purchase agreement under the Solar 150 program. The Gannawarra solar farm is the first large-scale solar farm in Victoria has a 13-year purchase with EnergyAustralia.