Enel, through its Green Power subsidiary, has formed a joint venture with Dutch Infrastructure Fund (DIF) to acquire the 137.5MW phase of the 275MW Bungala Solar project, to be located in Port Augusta in South Australia.
The solar plant is being acquired from Bungala Solar Holing, a subsidiary of Reach Solar Energy. Enel is expected to purchase the second phase of the project in the third quarter of this year.
The total investment to be made by the joint venture for the 275MW project is about $315m, with Enel contributing around $157m.
Enel and DIF will finance the investment through a combination of equity and project finance from local and international banks.
Electricity generated from the solar plant will be sold under a long-term power purchase agreement with Origin Energy, an Australian utility company. Construction on the phase one of the solar plant is expected to start in mid-2017.
The Bungala solar project is expected to generate about 570GWh of energy per year and will be able to meet the energy needs of about 82,000 Australian households, while avoiding more than 520,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Enel CEO and general manager Francesco Starace said: “The acquisition of Australia’s largest PV project, which takes us onto a new continent, is an important step forward for the Enel Group.
“The Australian renewable energy market is characterised by abundant resources and growing demand. Enel will work to harness these resources and contribute to the Australian economy, generating shared value for all our stakeholders through a strategy that delivers industrial growth built upon a foundation of sustainable development.”
Recently, Enel has started construction of the 238MW Don José solar plant in México, through its subsidiary Enel Green Power México (EGPM). The solar plant is located in San Luis de la Paz, in the North-Central state Guanajuato, Mexico.
Image: Enel acquires first phase of Bungala solar project in Australia. Photo: Courtesy of start08/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.