Financial close for 256.5 MWp solar project in Australia

Total Eren, a leading renewable energy Independent Power Producer ("IPP") based in Paris, is pleased to announce the Financial Close for its Kiamal Solar Farm with the support of a group of Australian and European financial institutions, namely ANZ, ING, and Natixis. Additionally, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) entered the project by taking a minority equity stake.

Located in North-West Victoria, the 256.5 MWp Kiamal Solar Farm (“Kiamal” or “the Project”) is a highly innovative utility-scale solar farm, leading the Australian renewable energy market as it transitions to a low carbon, high renewables economy.

Kiamal has been project-financed by ANZ (Australia), ING (Netherlands) and Natixis (France). The total value of debt financing reaches circa USD 175 million (AUD 250 million).

Total Eren is also pleased to welcome the CEFC (Clean Energy Finance Corporation) into the Project, as CEFC recently took a circa USD 35 million (AUD 51 million) minority equity stake in Kiamal Solar Farm.

For this transaction, Total Eren was advised by Ironstone Capital (Financial), Herbert Smith Freehills (Legal) and PWC (Tax and Accounting).

Currently under construction, the Project is expected to reach commercial operations later in 2019. It will be made up of over 718,000 PV panels with single-axis trackers covering over 500 hectares. When completed, the Project will be Victoria’s largest solar power plant; producing enough electricity to meet the needs of more than 133,500 Victorian homes and displacing more than 610,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

The energy to be generated by the 256.5 MWp Kiamal Solar Farm is contracted to:

• Mars Australia
• Alinta Energy
• Flow Power
• Zero Emissions Water
• Origin Energy (LGC only)

Combined equivalent PPA term is approximately 15 years.

The construction is led by a turnkey Consortium jointly led by Biosar Australia (“Biosar”), part of the Greek infrastructure group Aktor S.A., and Canadian Solar, one of the world’s leading solar PV technology suppliers. 

The Project is unique in that it is working with Siemens and contractor Vinci/Electrix to install a 190MVAr synchronous condenser as part of the generating system, in order to facilitate a timely connection to the Victorian Transmission System, and in turn substantially strengthening the grid in the region and making it possible to connect even more renewables in North Western Victoria in the near future.