Allens has advised a syndicate of domestic and international lenders on its $722 million debt financing package to fund the development of Stages 1 and 2 of the Supernode battery energy storage system (BESS), Australia's largest standalone BESS project financing to date.
The 520MW/1856MWh BESS, being developed by global investment manager Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, is located adjacent to the central node of Queensland's electricity network, allowing for efficient storage and redistribution of surplus solar energy.
The BESS will form part of a $2.5 billion hyperscale data centre, renewables and battery storage project at Brendale in Queensland which will offer significant low-emissions data storage capacity for domestic and international customers.
The syndicate of lenders includes Bank of America, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Deutsche Bank, Mizuho Bank and MUFG Bank. ICA Partners were the financial advisers to Quinbrook.
'We are delighted to have advised the lenders on this landmark investment in Australia's energy future, which will play a critical role in Australia's energy transition by providing renewable capacity to the energy-intense, rapidly growing data centre sector,' said lead partner Rob Watt.
The advice builds on Allens' experience in battery project financings, with the firm having also advised on the Orana BESS, Waratah Super BESS, Templers BESS, Koorangie Energy Storage System, Hazelwood BESS and the Bouldercombe Battery Project.
