UPDATE - CEFC funding to help speed up Windlab project in Victoria

Canberra-based renewables firm Windlab Ltd will be able to fast-track its Kiata wind power scheme in western Victoria state thanks to the loan it secured from Australia's Clean Energy Finance Corp (CEFC) on Monday.

The Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) said Wednesday, citing Windlab CEO Roger Price, that the planned wind park in Wimmera district’s town of Nhill was in the portfolio of Aussie projects to benefit from the AUD-8-million (USD 6.2m/EUR 5.4m) funding. The federal government funds injection will enable the developer to hopefully advance the project to construction by the end of the year, according to the report.

The official website of the Kiata wind project shows that an application for a planning permit has been submitted to the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning in late 2015 and is currently under assessment. Once up and running, the facility is expected to be able to generate enough electricity to power some 20,000 local households annually.

The CEFC backing comes just in time to compensate for the unwillingness of local commercial banks to lend money to firms like Windlab, as they deem it “too risky”, Price was quoted as saying.

(AUD 1.0 = USD 0.770/EUR 0.678)

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