A vote to decide the future of Mugga Lane Solar Park will take place on Thursday with the project expected to be up for sale in coming weeks.
Creditors will vote based on the likelihood of another bank taking on debt from current operator, Maoneng Group, after the company withdrew $1.48 million from their financer without authorisation.
Maoneng defaulted on its repayments for the unauthorised loan, which an investigation determined was funnelled into its renewable project in Merriwa, NSW.
Creditors could push for Mugga Lane Solar Park to go into liquidation, an outcome not favoured by Mugga Lane's sole backer, Nord bank, a major investor of renewables worldwide.
As the biggest creditor with about 90 per cent of the debt, Nord bank has the value to pass the vote that Mugga be put on the market.
The shifting of funds from Mugga to Merriwa could trigger an investigation from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, if found to have been in breach of Maoneng director's duties, as indicated by administrators.
A Maoneng spokesperson said Mugga Lane operates under a Special Purpose Vehicle structure and the appointment of voluntary administrators, KordaMentha, does not affect other group operations or any related entities.
An insider said Maoneng Group, which started in Australia several years ago after splitting from Chinese company Zhenfa, has also struggled to complete the commissioning of its Sunraysia project near Balranald in southern NSW, which has been delayed for months.
"It is very strange that they've put that [Mugga Lane] project into administration really," they said.
"Because that sounds like the dream project with probably 15 to 20 years secured and ACT government backed revenue."
Maoneng Group opened Mugga Lane in 2017, signing a 20-year, fixed-price contract with the ACT government to produce electricity for Canberra homes.
The project generates approximately 24,500 MWh of electricity using more than 53,000 solar modules across 45 hectares of Crown land in Tuggeranong.
The ACT government is a key stakeholder, providing the contracted price for energy generated under its large-scale renewables program.
Minister for Emissions Reduction Shane Rattenbury said there were no plans to change the arrangement should the solar farm change hands.
Mr Rattenbury ruled out the ACT government moving to take acquisition of the project.
He said the ACT government was unaware of how the owners of the solar farm had structured the finances of the asset or its reason for going into administration.
"During the administration process, the solar farm is continuing to provide renewable electricity for the ACT and it is anticipated it will continue to do so with the new owners," he said.
"While the reasons for the solar farm going into administration are unknown, this is not a sign that investing in renewables is a risk.
"On the contrary, the strong growth of the renewable energy sector continues, with 32.5 per cent of Australia's electricity generation coming from renewables in 2021, up by 5 per cent from the previous year."
