Fin close reached on 1st phase of Nexif's 212-MW wind project in S Australia

Singaporean power producer Nexif Energy has achieved financial close for the first stage of its 212-MW Lincoln Gap wind farm in South Australia.

In a press statement published on Sunday, the developer also announced the addition of a 10-MW battery storage system to the project that will be located near Port Augusta. The facility will be one of the country's largest private sector-initiated and owned grid battery systems not supported by a government contract or benefitting from government grants.

The 126-MW first phase envisages the installation of 36 turbines whose output will be sold under off-take contracts with Snowy Hydro and ERM Power. Once operational, the entire complex, consisting of 59 turbines, is expected to generate over 800,000 MWh of electricity, or enough to supply about 155,000 households annually. It will feed electricity into South Australia’s power grid via the ElectraNet transmission network.

Nexif will construct the Lincoln Gap wind farm under an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) deal with the Australian unit of Germany’s Senvion SA (ETR:SEN), which was signed in September. Full commissioning of the facility is expected for the first quarter of 2019.

The project will be funded by an up to AUD-150-million (USD 115m/EUR 98.7m) construction loan from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) and will also get AUD 39 million from Investec for working capital and letters of credit.

Nexif Energy is a joint venture between Singapore-based independent power management company Nexif and private equity firm Denham Capital. The company was formed in 2015 with the aim to develop, finance, build and acquire renewable power generation assets in Southeast Asia and Australia. It started developing the Lincoln Gap scheme back in 2004.

(AUD 1.0 = USD 0.766/EUR 0.658)

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