The Australian subsidiary of Korea Zinc is to acquire a 100% interest in solar and wind developer Epuron.
Following completion of the transaction, which is expected in the first half of 2022, Ark Energy will acquire 4.2GW of early-stage development projects located across National Electricity Market (NEM) states with a focus on wind and solar in Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania.
Ark Energy will also acquire a further investigation pipeline of 4.8GW and continue to deliver 5.86GW of projects under existing joint development agreements with high-quality counterparties.
The acquisition will integrate one of Australia’s “most experienced and successful” early-stage development teams, which includes 24 professionals with experience across all aspects of renewable energy development including scoping, identification, feasibility, community engagement, early development, final development through to pre-construction.
Ark Energy, through the acquisition, will also own and operate 7MW of fully contracted off-grid solar generation assets in the Northern Territory and own a 50% stake in Fulcrum3D, a renewables technology and data company that provides solutions for monitoring and forecasting renewable energy sources.
Yun Choi, chairman of Ark Energy and vice chairman of Korea Zinc, said this “friendly acquisition allows us to accelerate Korea Zinc Group’s energy transition and contributes to Ark Energy’s long-term ambition to develop a new green energy export corridor from Australia to South Korea”.
Ark Energy vice chairwoman Kathy Danaher said that in addition to the significant portfolio of highly attractive development projects, a key attraction for Ark Energy was the proven track record of the Epuron team who have experience across all aspects of renewables and energy storage as well as a broad set of skills from scoping sites through to pre-construction.
Epuron co-founder Martin Poole said: “With the energy transition accelerating, it is a hugely positive step for us to be joining a group with Ark Energy’s track record and shared vision to scale up investment in renewable energy production in Australia.
“We have made a significant contribution to Australia’s energy transition to date and look forward to doing even more over the next chapter with Ark Energy.”