Naturgy increases its presence in Australia with the award by the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) of 107 MW Wind Farm and a Battery Energy Storage System of 20 MW
With this award, in addition to the one announced last week, Naturgy increases its current presence in Australia by more than 50% and confirms its commitment to renewables growth in the country.
Berrybank 2 is the second project awarded in a public auction by the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government to Naturgy, through Global Power Generation (GPG) in Australia, its subsidiary for international power generation.
The total planned investment amounts to AUD 215 m, equivalent to approximately €131 m.
Along with this project, Naturgy will also deploy a battery storage facility, its first investment in this field in Australia, a country at the forefront of large-scale battery utilization.
The ACT Government yesterday announced the award to Global Power Generation (GPG), a joint venture of Naturgy Energy Group, SA (75%) and the Kuwait Investment Authority (25%), a contract to build a 107 MW wind farm located at Victoria State, approximately 150 km from Melbourne.
Additionally, and as part of the commitments associated to the wind farm project, GPG has committed to install a 20 MWh Battery Energy Storage System located within the Australian Capital Territory, that will allow to support the ACT distribution grid at the Queanbeyan substation, in partnership with TransGrid, the Transmission Network Service Provider in the region.
The wind farm, called Berrybank-Stage2, will entail a total investment of AUD 215 m (equivalent to approximately € 131 m), will start operations in the second half 2022.
The awarded contract is a 10 years Deed of Entitlement at a regulated tariff, for the energy equivalent to 100 MW capacity. Given the characteristics of the awarded contract and the conditions of the Australian market, one of the most attractive countries to invest in renewables, the project fully complies with the investment and profitability criteria required by Naturgy for value creation.
Bet on Australia
Berrybank Stage-2 wind farm will be Naturgy’s fourth investment in Australia, through GPG. Including this project, Naturgy will reach a renewable capacity of approximately 600 MW in the region, together with the Crookwell 2 wind farm (96 MW), currently in operation, and Berrybank Stage-1 (180 MW), close to be operational and Ryan Corner (218 MW) recently awarded by Snowy Hydro.
Naturgy is finalizing the permitting of various renewable projects in Australia, which could involve the development of more than 400 MW additional capacity, increasing by more than 150% its current installed capacity in the country, becoming the Top-2 of independent wind energy producer in Australia. The company has a project pipeline of more than 600 MW in the country and aims to become one of the main renewable operators in Australia in the next three years, reaching a total capacity of more than 1.3 GW.
About Global Power Generation (GPG)
Global Power Generation (GPG) is the Naturgy Energy Group’s subsidiary dedicated to international power generation, which is 25% owned by the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), the oldest sovereign fund in the world. KIA’s interest in GPG is managed by the KIA’s direct infrastructure platform, Wren House Infrastructure Management. GPG manages a total installed capacity of 4,100 MW and employs around 800 people worldwide.
