Neoen, a French renewable energy company, has completed financing for a portion of its Goyder South Stage I wind farm in South Australia. Six lenders, including ANZ, HSBC, Mizuho, Societe Generale, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Westpac, are providing equity and debt financing for the 412 MW wind project. The first tranche is funded by two long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) and includes 209 MW of the wind farm’s capacity. One PPA is for 100 MW over a period of 14 years with the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government, and the other is for 40 MW over a period of ten years with Australian energy retailer Flow Power.
Neoen stated that a baseload contract with BHP supports the remaining 203 MW of Goyder South Stage I’s capacity. The second phase of the wind farm’s financing is anticipated to be finished in 2023. There are 75 wind turbines at Goyder South Stage I, with a 412 MW capacity. It is anticipated to go live in 2024. It will grow to be the largest wind power asset in Neoen’s global portfolio once it is operational. Goyder South has received approval for 1.2 GW of wind and solar power, 600 MW of solar power, and 900 MW of battery storage. The wind farm is the first stage of Neoen’s hybrid wind, solar, and storage asset project, called the Goyder Renewables Zone.
In December 2022, Neoen SA signed a 15-year PPA for a 215-MW component of its 330-MW Mount Hopeful wind farm in Australia’s central Queensland. In order to be able to provide renewable energy to its commercial and industrial customers, Stanwell Corp., a company owned by the Queensland government, agreed to a deal whereby it would purchase 65 per cent of the wind farm’s generation. The wind power plant’s construction is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2023, with first power being anticipated in 2026.
