Singapore-based Equis Energy is ploughing $400 million into two separate solar energy projects in Australia, including one that will see Snowy Hydro take 100 per cent of the power from a South Australian plant.
Equis, led by former Macquarie Group and Denham Capital executives, has $3.6 billion invested across Asian energy projects, making it one of the region's biggest private renewables backers.
The more advanced of the local investments involves a 100MW solar project near Tailem Bend, about 60km south-east of Adelaide where construction is about to start and which the backers are predicting can undercut South Australian prices for electricity plus renewables certificates by 40 per cent. It will be built next to a 28.8MW diesel-fired power station owned by Snowy, which will use the output to support ambitions to double its circa 50,000-strong customer base in the state.
The deal comes as South Australia and its costly and unreliable electricity supply is under the spotlight, with BHP Billiton boss Andrew Mackenzie still seething over $140 million in lost revenues from the Olympic Dam mine after a two-week outage last October.
Snowy chief executive Paul Broad has likewise been looking to cut the risk around supplying his retail business in South Australia and is keen to see the project add battery storage potentially within four years.
Equis has also gained approval to build a 100MW solar project at Collinsville North in Queensland's Whitsundays region in Queensland. Arrangements for electricity sales from that venture are yet to be revealed but with solar costs diving, the sector is seeing a marked pick-up in appetite from retailers for solar offtake, most recently in a deal by Ergon Energy to buy power from the 100 MW Lilyvale project being developed by Spanish player FRV.
Elsewhere in energy, Senex Energy is primed to accelerate activity on its Western Surat Gas Project in Queensland after the deal to bring EIG Global Energy Partners onto its register, with details to be confirmed on Wednesday.
The tie-up will also see the specialist energy investor agree to provide up to $US300 million in lending for the coal seam gas project. EIG is not unfamiliar with the sector, having been an indirect investor in Tipperary Corporation whose Fairview field is now part of Santos's GLNG venture.
Senex has an accord to supply gas from Western Surat to GLNG, although the project could also sell into the domestic market. With the EIG deal inked, news on investment to deliver the first tranche of gas, put at $40 million-$50 million, is likely only weeks away.
