Macquarie exits 80% stake in Australia wind farm

Financial details have not been disclosed. Lal Lal, which is said to require up to A$400 million ($296 million) of development capital, was acquired by Macquarie last year for an undisclosed sum from West Wind Energy. Macquarie will retain a 20% stake in the project. Infrared described the deal as an important milestone in its plan to bring cleantech expertise from Europe and the Americas to Australia.

The divestment coincides with Northleaf opening an Australian office to expand its activity in the region. The firm first entered the Australian wind energy space in 2013 with an investment in the Waterloo wind farm.

As part of the transaction, Macquarie has negotiated two commercial agreements with weather risk insurance company Nephilia Climate and financial services giant Allianz that are expected to support Lal Lal's development. These include a proxy revenue swap aimed at offsetting various energy pricing risks and a power purchase agreement with Australian packaging and containers company Orora.

"Our extensive experience in the renewable energy sector globally is enabling us to bring innovative transaction structures and financing solutions to the Australian market," Ivan Varughese, Macquarie's head of infrastructure, utilities and renewables for Australasia, said in a statement. "It's positive to see innovative companies such as Orora adopting new solutions like this to access renewable energy."

Lal Lal comprises two sites in Victoria and will have a generating capacity of 228 megawatts, using 60 turbines. Once complete, the project is expected to be capable of powering about 95,000 homes and saving 780,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. Installation works have begun, and the wind farms are scheduled to be fully operational by the second half of 2019.

Investor interest in Australian renewables has increased in recent years on the back of a bi-partisan agreement to set new renewable energy targets and 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.

Recent activity in the wind segment includes a A$22 million investment in the Coopers Gap project by a renewables-focused vehicle backed by QIC and Future Fund. Earlier this year, Partners Group agreed to invest A$700 million in an Australian renewables platform that will initially focus on developing the Sapphire wind farm.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Cleantech
• Infrastructure
• Australia
• Macquarie Group
• Exit
• energy