One of Australia's largest wind developments, Golden Plains Wind Farm, has been named Asia Pacific Renewables Deal of the Year in the annual Project Finance International (PFI) Awards.
The PFI Awards recognise excellence and innovation in project finance transactions around the world.
Joe Harber, Head of Wind Investment said: "This award is welcome recognition of the important role of Golden Plains Wind Farm in our net zero economy of the future and we congratulate everyone involve in this complex transaction. the wind farm will play a critical role in Australia's clean energy grid of the future, underpinning our transition to net zero emissions. We are delighted this landmark project was able to draw in substantial new investors at a time when Australia is accelerating its renewable energy ambitions."
The CEFC has committed up to $175 million to develop Stage 1 of Golden Plains Wind Farm, near Geelong - its single largest investment in a wind project, which is also targeting its single largest emissions abatement.
The CEFC investment drew in an additional $1.8 billion of private sector capital, including 100 per cent equity from clean energy investor TagEnergy, in its first Australian investment. Debt providers include Westpac, Bank of China, Mizuho, German state-owned investment bank KfW, the Commonwealth Bank, and Danish Credit Export Agency EKF.
Stage 1 will include 122 wind turbines and generate 756.4 MW of clean energy to replace coal-fired generation. The estimated annual emissions abatement is an average 770,000 tonnes CO2-e, or more than 23 million tonnes CO2-e over the project's 30-year lifetime.
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