GBN Member Transaction Database

ANZ joined with CEFC to establish a A$150 million Energy Efficient Asset Finance program that makes it easier for businesses to invest in energy-efficient and renewable technologies that will help reduce their energy use, carbon foot print and fuel costs. Through the program, ANZ can offer a 0.70%p.a. discount to business customers on the standard asset finance rate for new assets up to A$5 million that meet CEFC energy efficiency requirements. In August 2019, CEFC committed to facilitating a further A$100 million to the program. The additional finance will take ANZ’s total commitment to A$250 million, with a focus on enabling businesses to purchase small-scale solutions to reduce their energy use, carbon footprint and fuel consumption. As of late 2019, more than 500 ANZ business and commercial customers had used ANZ Energy Efficient Asset Finance since it was launched in December 2017. Investments include small-scale rooftop solar and battery storage, improved insulation and low-emission or electric vehicles.

The Benchmark CT initiative is offered through a partnership with CT Housing Finance Authority (CHFA), where WegoWise will benchmark 1,600 multifamily properties and guide building owners through an analysis to identify opportunities. The first year of benchmarking is offered for free. An initial 500 properties were benchmarked in partnership with New Ecology, Inc. between 2014 and 2015. The Green Bank and CHFA will leverage the benchmarking results to identify the highest priority targets across the portfolio for either predevelopment or term financing.

GIG entered into a partnership arrangement with Covanta Holding Corporation to jointly develop, fund and own new waste-to-energy projects in the UK and Ireland. GIG has underscored its commitment to the partnership by agreeing to invest EUR136 million in a 50 per cent stake in Covanta’s newly operational Dublin Waste-to-Energy Facility. Covanta and GIG have identified up to six projects across the UK for potential inclusion in the partnership. Once realised, these projects are expected to treat approximately 2 million tonnes of residual waste per annum.

The CT Solar Lease was a financing product developed in partnership with a tax equity investor (US Bank) and a syndicate of local lenders (First Niagara Bank and Webster Bank). CT Green Bank provided a US$3.5 million loan loss reserve in combination with US$2.3 million in subordinated debt and US$7.2 million in equity.

SL2 enabled lease and power purchase agreement (“PPA”) financing for residential and commercial-scale solar PV systems in Connecticut installed by an array of independent contractors. The CT Solar Lease is the first fund to secure solar leases and PPAs using a PACE lien, a lauded innovation. SL2 was an overwhelming success; the program’s capacity (over $70 million) was fully utilized, with nearly 1,200 residential systems and dozens of systems of commercial-scale projects accounting for over 20 megawatts of new distributed deployment.

CEFC is aiming to kick start new standards in clean energy for healthcare by investing up to AU$100 million in the new Dexus Healthcare Wholesale Property Fund (HWPF). HWPF will own Australia’s first portfolio of hospital and healthcare assets to have an environmentally sustainable development focus. Australian Ethical Investments is also participating in the fund.

HWPF is targeting emissions reductions of 45 per cent in both new and existing buildings when compared with the Council of Australian Government (COAG) Baseline Energy Consumption in commercial buildings. New HWPF buildings will target a Green Star Design, an As Built rating of 5 Stars and Green Star Performance Rating. Over the long term, HWPF is targeting a portfolio of net zero carbon outcomes, including low-emission transport options, such as electric vehicles, ride sharing and integration with local transport infrastructure. Tenants and hospital users will also be encouraged to adopt energy efficient practices.

The 80MW (AC) Oakey Solar Farm in south-east Queensland is expected to deliver enough renewable energy to power around 24,000 homes, while using forecasting technology that will help enhance grid stability and energy reliability. It is being developed in two stages and the CEFC has committed finance to both stages – AU$19.5 million for Oakey 1 which is currently under construction, and AU$55 million to the adjacent Oakey 2. When complete, the project will be battery ready.

CEFC committed AU$207 million in debt finance to accelerate the development of 200MW of additional solar capacity across two WIRSOL Energy projects – the Wemen Solar Farm in Victoria and the Clermont Solar Farm in Queensland. At the time of these commitments, the CEFC had invested in 20 large-scale solar projects since 2013, becoming Australia’s largest solar investor, supporting projects across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia.

BQ Energy (“BQ”) is a renewable energy project developer specializing in landfill and brownfield site redevelopment. As the third installation of a larger portfolio of projects to be financed in partnership with NY Green Bank, BQ will receive a US$3.1 million construction loan and term loan facility to complete a 2.8 megawatt solar project to be constructed on a remediated landfill located in the City of Beacon, NY. Solar power from this project will be sold to the City, generating a significant percentage of its total power needs.

GIG launched a new service called Energy Solutions to help medium and large energy users reduce energy costs and cut carbon emissions with no upfront costs for the user. Energy Solutions provides private and public organisations with end-to-end technical and funding support that will enable them to take distributed energy and energy efficiency projects from the earliest phase of development through construction and into operations and management.

As part of Energy Solutions, GIG will offer a ‘pay-as-you-save’ Energy Services Agreement (ESA). This will enable businesses to benefit from a programme of investment in energy assets with no balance sheet impact. These assets can involve a diverse range of technologies including power generation, heating and cooling, controls and systems, batteries, transport fleets, and lighting.

The 212MW Lincoln Gap Wind Farm to be built near Port Augusta in South Australia, will include approximately 10MW of battery storage to better manage the intermittency of generation while boosting its ability to provide a cost-effective, reliable clean and secure source of energy. The project is the first in Australia to secure non-subsidised debt finance for a large-scale battery component and provides an important financing model for other developers and investors wanting to be at the forefront of the closer integration of renewables into the grid.

The project will be developed in two stages, with the CEFC committing up to AU$150 million in senior debt finance as the sole financier to Nexif Energy to help it develop the AU$300 million 126MW first stage of its planned wind farm, which will include the battery storage.

GE and GIG partnered to deliver and operate 650 MW of onshore wind through the Markbygden ETT wind farm in Northern Sweden. The project will be the largest single site onshore wind farm in Europe, increasing Sweden’s installed wind generation by more than 12.5 percent. The equity partners raised approximately EUR800 million in financing and have commenced construction of the project. The transaction is GIG’s first equity investment following its acquisition by Macquarie and its first investment outside of the United Kingdom.

The project was financed on a non-recourse project financing basis with close to EUR500 million in debt financing. GE and GIG originated and structured a 19-year fixed volume Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with a subsidiary of Norsk Hydro, one of the largest aluminum producers in the world. The PPA is understood to be the largest corporate wind energy PPA in the world.

Windlab and Eurus Energy’s Kennedy Energy Park in central north Queensland will be Australia’s first fully integrated wind, solar and battery project. CEFC committed AU$94 million as a sole debt financier for the project. The AU$160 million 60MW project near Hughenden will connect to the local grid, providing electricity to communities from Julia Creek to Charters Towers, more than 500 kilometres away.

The project includes 43.2 MW of wind, 15 MW (AC) of solar and 2 MW of battery storage and is expected to deliver lifetime emissions abatement of almost three million tonnes of CO2-e. The addition of the battery component will provide increased grid stability, allowing local communities to benefit from cheaper, cleaner electricity closer to the point of generation, with the added benefit of relieving demand on long transmission lines.

The Clean Energy Innovation Fund – which uses finance from the CEFC to invest in innovative clean energy companies and projects – committed US$5 million (approximately AU$6.5 million) to Redback. The Innovation Fund’s equity commitment is part of Redback’s US$7 million Series A-2 capital raising round, which has also secured a US$2 million investment from RightClick Capital.

Redback’s system uses machine learning to predict solar generation and customer usage. It then makes intelligent decisions to optimise energy usage, driving down energy costs for end users and reducing fossil fuel reliance. Redback’s software also enables systems to be aggregated to form a virtual power plant, to provide grid services and support increased integration of renewables into the grid. The investment will allow Redback to expand its R&D capabilities, accelerate development of its smart software suite and strengthen its technical and professional workforce.

The 88MW (AC) 110 (DC) Bannerton Solar Park, being constructed in near Robinvale in the Sunraysia district in Victoria will help bring stability and diversity to the state’s energy supply. The CEFC is the sole debt financier to the project and its involvement demonstrates the commercial viability of the project due to the fall in the cost of building solar in Australia.

CEFC committed approximately AU$98 million for the solar project which is being developed by a joint venture between independent global infrastructure and private equity investment manager Foresight Group and Syncline Energy, a Victorian-based developer. Equity investment in the project will be provided by the UK-listed Foresight Solar Fund Limited (FSFL), Korean government-owned Korean Infrastructure Asset Management Company KIAMCO (each of whom are taking a 48.5 per cent stake) and Korea’s Hanwha Energy (3 per cent).

The Connecticut State Colleges & Universities (CSCU) partnered with Current powered by GE, SunLight Solar Energy and CT Green Bank to install solar energy systems at three campuses in order to reduce energy consumption and decrease operating expenses. Construction began in 2017 at Manchester and Middlesex Community Colleges as well as Southern CT State University with the goal of extending to other campuses including Central, Housatonic, Asnuntuck, Quinebaug, Tunxis and Western by 2019. The solar energy initiative is funded entirely with private capital sourced by Connecticut Green Bank and once fully implemented is estimated to save CSCU more than US$10 million within the first 20 years.

GIG announced the arranging of a GB£38 million financing for Wheelabrator Technologies, to be used for the construction of Ferrybridge Multifuel 2 (FM2) – a large-scale merchant energy-from-waste facility near Knottingley in West Yorkshire, United Kingdom. FM2 will be located adjacent to Ferrybridge Multifuel 1 (FM1), which commenced commercial operations in July 2015, and next to the recently decommissioned Ferrybridge C coal-fired power station. Combined, the FM1 and FM2 plants will form the largest energy-from-waste site in the UK. The £38 million commitment is the first investment to be completed following the acquisition of the Green Investment Bank by a Macquarie-led consortium.

Australian waste management company Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd is accelerating its best practice sustainable waste management activities with an array of projects aimed at reducing the amount of waste going to landfill. Cleanaway is financing the program of works with a AU$90 million corporate loan from the CEFC. Through the loan, the CEFC is looking to demonstrate how clean energy technologies can be used to tackle the problem of waste emissions and play a vital role in Australia’s clean energy transition.

The first confirmed project is the development of a best-in-class resource recovery centre at Erskine Park in NSW. When operational, the centre will be capable of processing 150,000 tonnes of waste a year, diverting approximately 40 per cent of waste volume from landfill. Other projects eligible to use the CEFC finance include facilities for organics processing and resource recovery, as well as landfill gas projects.

Two new solar farms will add a total of 200MW of solar generation capacity at Collinsville in north Queensland, with the CEFC committing AU$90 million in debt finance as part of a syndicated debt facility involving Commonwealth Bank and French investment bank Natixis. BlackRock is providing equity towards the projects. Daydream Solar Farm, which is expected to be operational by mid-2018, has secured a 12-year power purchase agreement with Origin, while energy generated by Hayman Solar Farm will be sold into the grid on a merchant basis. The projects consist of about 2 million solar panels.

A AU$100 million asset finance program through Macquarie Leasing is aimed at accelerating the use of electric vehicles and other clean energy solutions. The program offers a 0.7 per cent discount on finance for electric vehicles, as well as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and a range of eligible energy efficient and renewable energy equipment. Customers who choose eligible lower emissions passenger vehicles can also benefit from the program, with a 0.5 per cent finance discount.

Macquarie Leasing will make the discounted finance available to customers through its existing relationships with car manufacturers. Finance will be provided to customers to enter into arrangements to purchase, hire and/or lease qualifying assets that satisfy the criteria for qualifying contracts. The program extends to new energy efficient vehicles and equipment, as well as rooftop solar and battery storage. Investment in equipment to upgrade the energy efficiency of buildings, such as energy efficient lighting, building management systems and better air conditioning, will also benefit from the finance discount.

Relectrify is developing and commercialising control technology that unlocks extra performance in battery systems by boosting their second-life storage capability and lifespan once they are no longer effective as electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid car batteries. CEFC through the Clean Energy Innovation Fund committed AU$750,000 equity to Relectrify to help “prove” the business with further development of the technology and initial trials. The investment is part of a AU$1.5m pre-Series A equity raising by Relectrify.

Australian company Thinxtra is deploying the world-leading Sigfox Low Powered Wide Area Network (LPWAN) technology to provide a low-cost operating framework for Internet of Things Technologies focused on cutting energy use. CEFC committed up to AU$10 million to assist the expansion of Thinxtra, through the Clean Energy Innovation Fund, as part of a AU$20 million Series B capital raising.

Thinxtra’s support technology is set to play a key role in transitioning the Australian economy to net zero carbon emissions by the second half of the century. While a whole range of devices already on the market can be connected to existing internet services, Thinxtra’s LPWAN technology requires far less power and provides much longer battery life for devices that only require the transmission of small amounts of data and intermittent internet connectivity.

Wattwatchers clamp-on internet device, advanced control analytics and cloud-hosted management interface provide data that shows where and when energy is being consumed in real time. CEFC invested AU$2 million, through the Clean Energy Innovation Fund, as part of Wattwatchers AU$4 million 2016-17 Series A capital raising.

The CEFC finance will help the Sydney-based company lift its production volumes and drive down production costs. Wattwatchers technology can be used across residential, commercial, industrial and utility services because it works with a wide range of software applications. It potentially works alongside other smart technology applications, battery storage and microgrids to reduce energy consumption, encourage better energy saving habits and increase the ability to tap into locally generated rooftop solar.

Pilgangoora Operations Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pilbara Minerals Ltd, is developing the Pilgangoora lithium-tantalum project in Western Australia, to develop resources used in lithium battery storage. In its first investment in a WA mining project of this type, CEFC supported the project through a US$15 million cornerstone commitment (around AU$20 million) to a US$100 million senior secured bond issuance by Pilgangoora Operations Pty Ltd.

Demand for lithium is expected to grow, driven by the predicted uptake of electric vehicles that use lithium ion batteries, and by the growth in energy storage solutions requiring lithium concentrate supplies. Concentrate will be exported from Port Hedland, predominantly to China under existing off-take agreements for processing lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide for a wide range of lithium products.

CEFC committed debt finance of AU$32 million to lift the benchmark for student accommodation, in line with the CEFC’s efforts to encourage net zero carbon buildings in the property sector. A 428-bed student accommodation project will help set a new benchmark in energy efficient design. Initiatives incorporated into the project include energy efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning, energy efficient equipment, LED lighting, centralised gas water heating, water efficient taps and a 25kW rooftop solar photovoltaic system.

CEFC’s finance for Moorebank Logistics Park is the first investment in clean energy transport infrastructure for the CEFC. It committed up to AU$150 million through a seven-year bilateral term debt facility to assist in providing medium-term finance for the staged construction of the terminal. Leading freight and logistics company Qube Holdings Limited is developing the nationally-significant Moorebank Logistics Park to take emissions-intensive trucks off Australian roads by increasing the use of rail networks to distribute containerised freight to and from Port Botany. The switch to rail transport, when operating at scale, will cut an estimated 3,000 truck journeys a day from Sydney’s road network, particularly the M5. It will also reduce the number of regular Sydney-Brisbane and Sydney-Melbourne truck freight trips.