ARENA launched a $100m large-scale solar competitive round seeking bids for grants of up to $30m solar PV projects, with a minimum generation capacity of 5MW.
CEFC will provide $250m in large-scale solar financing to the projects with loan requirements of around $15m.
ARENA funding round is aimed at developing a further 200MW of large-scale solar capacity in Australia.
ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said: "The funding round is about unlocking that capability to deploy large-scale solar farms across the nation. This will drive further innovation in the sector and create efficiencies in Australia’s solar PV supply chains."
Currently around 211MW solar capacity is being created at AGL’s twin solar farms in Broken Hill and Nyngan and at the Moree Solar Farm.
CEFC CEO Oliver Yates said: "While the costs of large-scale solar PV are decreasing, this financing boost will help Australian projects move down the cost curve, in line with international trends.
"When fully deployed, the CEFC finance will be the single largest debt financing commitment to the Australian large-scale solar sector. The CEFC’s provision of fixed-rate longer-dated senior debt finance is designed to directly support the network of financiers, project suppliers and developers in the delivery of additional large-scale solar in Australia."
CEFC already provided $46m in senior debt financing for the 56MW Moree Solar Farm in New South Wales and $17m towards remote solar projects in the Northern Territory.
It also offered $15m towards a solar and battery storage project at Sandfire Resources’ DeGrussa copper mine in Western Australia.
