Squadron Energy takes hold of Australia's CWP Renewables

Squadron Energy, backed by Australian iron ore billionaire Andrew Forrest, has acquired domestic platform CWP Renewables, taking hold of a 1.1-GW operational wind portfolio and a hefty pipeline of wind, solar and battery projects.

The purchase will expand the buyer’s renewable energy fleet to 2.4 GW and will grow its Australian development pipeline to 20 GW, it said on Wednesday. Swiss private markets investor Partners Group is the vendor.

Financial details about the deal were kept under wraps. According to insiders quoted by Reuters, its value exceeds AUD 4 billion (USD 2.67bn/EUR 2.56bn).

Among CWP Renewables’ assets are the 270-MW Sapphire, the 134-MW Crudine Ridge and 142-MW Crudine Ridge wind farms in New South Wales. The company has in place approvals for 750 MW of new wind parks in the Aussie state, while another wind project of 414 MW wind project is in the ready-to-build stage. Additionally, it is working on a 180-MW solar project and two battery storage schemes, one of which co-located with the Sapphire wind park.

The acquired business will become part of Squadron Energy, a move that the latter says will make it Australia’s largest renewable energy investor, operator and developer.

Squadron Energy is controlled by Andrew Forrest's privately-owned firm Tattarang. Allegedly, its competitors in the bid for CWP Renewables were Spanish utility Iberdrola SA (BME:IBE) and Australia’s Tilt Renewables.

(AUD 1.0 = USD 0.669/EUR 0.639)

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