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Investors commit $347m to Australian wind farm

  • Holden Mann
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Partners Group has led a A$450 million ($347 million) investment in Australia's Ararat Wind Farm project, alongside General Electric (GE), Renewable Energy Systems (RES), and Canadian pension fund OPTrust.

The wind farm, located west of Melbourne, is expected to have a capacity of 240 megawatts when it is completed in 2017, making it the third largest wind farm in the country. Construction on the project will begin immediately, according to a release.

The investment comes just days after Australian lawmakers ended an impasse and passed a new Renewable Energy Target (RET), which specifies the amount of energy to be produced from renewable sources. Investors had been reluctant to commit to renewable energy projects due to uncertainty over the law's future.

Partners Group is the largest shareholder in the Ararat project, which was originally developed by RES. Benjamin Haan, Partners Group's managing director and Asia Pacific head of private infrastructure, will join Ararat's board.

The firm has shown considerable interest in Australian infrastructure investments, having joined a consortium of investors last year to take over Sydney's North West Rail Link, the country's biggest public transport infrastructure project. Also last year, Partners Group acquired a portfolio of PE investments from MLC Private Equity for A$750 million.

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