Six projects will be bankrolled in NSW, Victoria and South Australia under a $2 billion capital deal struck by an Australian renewable energy developer.
Maoneng, which began as a rooftop solar firm in western Sydney just over a decade ago, will partner with a Hong Kong investment fund in a major boost for big batteries needed to support more solar power.
Gaw Maoneng Renewables (GMR) will fast-track the development of more than 1.9 gigawatts of utility-scale battery energy storage and solar power generation, the partners announced on Thursday.
Institutional investors with an interest in Australian renewable energy infrastructure are being lined up.
The deal includes Maoneng's lead project, the Mornington battery energy storage system in Victoria, which is expected to break ground in the first quarter of 2023, and the Gould Creek system in Adelaide.
It also covers three projects in NSW, which have development applications pending, and the planned Merriwa Energy Hub in NSW's Upper Hunter.
Merriwa includes both battery storage and a 550-megawatt solar farm in one of the few remaining large-scale sites available in the state.
Gaw Capital Partners will take the lead in securing equity and debt financing for the construction of existing projects, and will look for new energy projects.
Christina Gaw, global head of capital markets at Gaw Capital Partners, said many of their institutional investors want to allocate capital to clean energy and sustainable investments in Australia and Asia.
"We are very pleased with the opportunity to back one of the largest energy infrastructure investments in support of Australia's energy transition away from fossil fuels," she said.
Gaw expects to expand GMR significantly through the development and investment in renewables.
"The transition to renewable energy in Australia is accelerating under this government's policy, and batteries are a key piece to the puzzle in facilitating higher grid penetration by solar and wind," GMR chief executive Morris Zhou said.
"The partnership allows us to focus on the job and to get it done sooner."
