Neoen has completed financial close on the first 209MW of its 412MW Goyder South Stage 1 wind farm (pictured), in the Mid North region of South Australia.
This first tranche of 209 MW is underpinned by two PPAs – a 14-year contract for 100MW with the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government and a 10-year agreement for 40MW with Flow Power, an Australian electricity retailer.
It has been financed by a combination of equity provided by Neoen and debt facilities provided by a group of six lenders including ANZ, HSBC, Mizuho, Societe Generale, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Westpac.
The remaining 203MW of Goyder South Stage 1 will support the recently announced renewable energy baseload contract with BHP.
The financing of this second portion of Goyder South Stage 1 is expected to be completed in 2023.
Construction of Stage 1 in its entirety, comprising 412MW and 75 wind turbines, is currently underway with operations expected to commence in 2024.
Once operational it will be the largest wind power asset in Neoen’s global portfolio.
Goyder South Stage 1 is the first phase of Neoen’s flagship project known as Goyder Renewables Zone, a hybrid wind, solar and storage project.
Goyder South has development approval for a total of 1200MW of wind generation, 600MW of solar generation and 900MW of battery storage capacity, making it South Australia’s largest renewable project.
Neoen Australia’s managing director Louis de Sambucy said: “We are delighted to announce that Goyder South, Neoen’s most ambitious giga-project, reached this key financial milestone at the end of 2022.
“I would like to thank the lender group for their trust and their commitment.
“We are on track to deliver Stage 1 in 2024 and look forward to the contribution it will make to South Australia’s ambition to become a major renewable energy exporter and to the ACT’s goal of reaching net zero by 2045.”