Indonesian company Sun Energy is to acquire the 132MW Merredin solar farm in Western Australia from Risen Energy for an undisclosed price.
Merredin is the largest operating solar farm in Western Australia with a total of 354,452 panels spread over 460 hectares.
It has been operational since August 2020 and has expected annual renewable power generation of 274 gigawatt-hours.
The project has also obtained development approval to deploy up to a 20MW/40 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system (BESS) onsite, which will help stabilise the grid system and create additional revenue streams.
Sun Energy and Risen Energy will jointly explore development of the BESS at Merredin post transaction completion.
BHP has an offtake agreement for 50% of the power from Merredin which is directed to the company’s Nickel West Kwinana refinery and Kalgoorlie Smelter.
The project also has an agreement with Sunshot Energy for the offtake of large- scale generation certificates created by the solar farm.
Risen Energy will remain as the operations and maintenance contractor for Merredin after the acquisition.
The acquisition forms an integral part of Sun Energy’s expansion strategy, with an ambition to become a regional leader in renewable energy solutions for both corporate and residential customers, the company said.
Sun Energy chief executive Philip Lee said: “As a solar power developer headquartered in Singapore, Sun Energy has been rapidly expanding its renewable energy portfolio in the region.
“The Australian market is key for us, given the long-term potential for renewable energy and its geographical proximity.
“The acquisition supports our strategy to become one of the leading renewable energy companies in the region, through a combination of new project development and selective acquisitions.”
Risen Energy Australia CEO Archie Chen said: “We are very pleased to team up with Sun Energy for Merredin Solar Farm.
“This is the second large-scale solar farm that Risen Energy has completed in Australia, and the signing of this agreement is well aligned with our long-term strategy to grow our position as a solar powerhouse and to achieve our new growth targets in Australia.
“As our pipeline continues to build, we look forward to delivering more renewable energy projects to the Australian market in the coming years.”
Sun Energy was advised on financial issues by Voltiq and DLA Piper on legal issues on the transaction, while Risen Energy was advised by Holding Redlich on legal aspects of the deal.