Partners Group commits $530m to Australia renewables platform
Partners Group has agreed to invest A$700 million ($530 million) in an Australian renewable energy platform with plans to advance an existing wind power project.
The platform, known as Grassroots, will initially focus on the development of the Sapphire wind farm, which aims to begin supplying electricity to some 110,000 homes within the year. Partners Group acquired a 97% stake in the project in 2016 for A$250 million.
The GP is establishing Grassroots in partnership with domestic project developer CWP Renewables, which also participated in the Sapphire acquisition. According to a statement, a project pipeline with a power generation capacity in the range of 1.3 gigawatts is planned for development, including Crudine Ridge, an operation comprising wind, solar and battery storage assets.
Sapphire is expected to provide a total generation capacity of 270 megawatts across 75 turbines in New South Wales. It has secured a 20-year power purchase agreement for 100MW with the Australian Capital Territory government. Other backers of the project include Danish credit agency EKF, Australia's Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.
Partners Group’s Australian portfolio is said to benefit from momentum around a number of government-connected initiatives such as a renewables-focused vehicle launched by domestic electricity provider AGL Energy and a seed fund for clean energy start-ups. In 2015, the firm led a A$450 million investment in the 240MW Ararat wind farm west of Melbourne alongside General Electric, Renewable Energy Systems, and OPTrust.
Across Asia Pacific, Partners Group has developed around 2GW of solar and wind energy projects to date, with investments including stakes in a 550MW Taiwanese solar development platform, and the Japan Solar platform, which was exited earlier this year for a 3.2x return. In 2012, the firm backed the construction of two projects by Thailand's Wind Energy.
Partners Group has more than EUR 62 billion ($74 billion) in investment programs globally under management in private equity, real estate, infrastructure and debt. In early 2014, it raised EUR 1.5 billion for private equity direct investments after closing a dedicated global infrastructure vehicle at EUR1 billion.
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