Palisade, CEFC to help fund 500 MW of Aussie renewables via new strategy

Palisade Investment Partners and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) today unveiled a new investment strategy through which it would be possible to develop up to 500 MW of solar and wind projects in Australia.

The Aussie infrastructure manager intends to build a portfolio of renewable energy plants valued at over AUD 1 billion (USD 770m/EUR 684m) in total, based on investment mandates agreed with the CEFC and other major investors.

Under the new investment strategy, CEFC will allocate up to AUD 100 million of equity. In turn, Palisade will contribute up to AUD 400 million through a mix of managed funds and its Direct Investment Mandate clients, including VicSuper, LGIAsuper and the Qantas Superannuation Plan. At the same time, National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA) will provide debt financing for the renewable energy projects.

“Through this strategy we are looking to attract investors at an earlier stage of project development, so we can more effectively accelerate the construction of commercially-viable projects,” said Oliver Yates, CEO of CEFC.

Palisade already manages two wind parks and is currently working on an expansion of one of them, financed by early adopters LGIAsuper and Qantas Super, it said. In the second half of 2016, the company plans to launch a pooled renewable energy fund to provide a broader range of investors with access to investments in renewables.

Late last month, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the CEFC were tasked by the local government to co-manage a AUD-1-billion Clean Energy Innovation Fund (CEIF). That fund will extend ARENA’s scope to cover energy efficiency and low emissions technology among other renewables-focussed projects.

(AUD 1.0 = USD 0.770/EUR 0.684)

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