Denham-backed platform acquires Australian renewables projects

The projects are part of the OneWind portfolio, in which Denham invested in 2013 alongside Enersis Australia, National Power and Kato Capital. As a result of the transaction, Nexif will take control of the 212-megawatt Lincoln Gap wind farm in South Australia and the 90 MW Glen Innes wind farm in New South Wales. It will also acquire a 32% stake in RPVD Development, which owns the Walkaway II wind and solar projects in Western Australia.

"Nexif is well-located geographically to bring expertise and efficiency to the projects," Saurabh Anand, a director at Denham, said in a statement. "We're excited about this transition and the value the projects will bring to Australia in the near future, particularly with the recent positive changes in the Australian power renewable market."

Lincoln Gap is scheduled to have 59 turbines, which could collectively generate up to 177 MW. Glen Innes will be comprised of 25 turbines that will feed into local transmission network, Transgrid. Both projects are fully permitted with secured land rights and are expected to begin generating electricity in mid-2018.

Denham and Nexif formed a partnership last year, earmarking $200 million for investments in Southeast Asian energy projects. This initiative has so far resulted in the acquisition of Coc San, a 30 MW Vietnamese hydropower project.

Previous Australian activity by Denham includes the establishment of Auctus Minerals, $130 million mining investment platform, and a $200 million investment in coal producer Pembroke Resources. Earlier this year, Pembroke agreed to acquire a suite of Queensland-based coal assets from Peabody Energy.

Australia's renewables space has experienced increased momentum since the government reached a bi-partisan agreement last year to generate 20% of the country's electricity from clean sources by 2020.

More concrete government support since setting this target has included the launch of a A$20 million ($15.3 million) cleantech start-up seed fund as well as an A$800 million commitment via QIC and Future Fund to a renewables-focused vehicle managed by domestic electricity provider AGL Energy.

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