MPower, an Australia-based renewable project developer, acquired a 5 MW shovel-ready solar project in the Aussie state of Victoria. The Faraday project will produce more than 11,500MWh of electricity per year and can power upwards of 1,500 homes in the region and deliver significant carbon offsets.
Located in Faraday, Victoria, approximately 116km northwest of Melbourne, the Faraday project will supply clean energy to the local region via a network of 11,000 bifacial solar panel modules. In aggregate, the modules can produce more than 11,500MWh of electricity in the project’s first year of operation. The project will have the capacity to power upwards of 1,500 homes. It will also operate with an estimated carbon offset contribution of 8,150,000kg CO2.
MPower has finalized the Asset Purchase Agreement that was entered into in 2021 with Tetris Energy and has become the owner of all development assets with the shovel-ready project.
Total consideration for the project comprised a purchase price of $462,000, including GST. Pending the commencement of construction and the finalization of longer-term financing arrangements, the purchase price has, in the interim, been 100% funded by an unsecured loan to the project entity from MPower’s largest shareholder, Tag Private Pty Limited, an entity associated with MPower Chairman Peter Wise and CEO Nathan Wise. The loan has a three-month term and an interest rate of 12% per annum.
Chief Executive Officer, Nathan Wise, said: “We are pleased to confirm the successful completion of this Asset Purchase Agreement, following an extensive period of collaboration with the project vendors and local authorities. We are very encouraged by the corporate and operational progress we have made in recent months. The Faraday site is directly aligned with our stated strategy to build a network of efficient 5 MW projects to supply stable, clean energy to regional areas with strong demand.
We look forward to providing more meaningful updates for Faraday and our broader portfolio strategy in the current quarter.”
According to Mercom’s recently released Annual and Q4 Solar Funding and M&A Report, there were 268 large-scale solar project acquisitions in 2022 compared to 280 transactions in 2021. In 2022, about 66 GW of solar projects were acquired, with project developers picking up the most, reaching 35.7 GW. Solar project acquisitions in terms of GW were at the second-highest level ever.
