VH Global Sustainable Energy Opportunities, a renewable energy investment firm, has agreed to acquire and develop two solar projects co-located with energy storage systems in New South Wales, Australia, for £16.9 million (~$21.33 million). The investment is part of the Australian solar and energy storage investment program, as announced in August 2021.
This investment has elevated the total commitment to the program from the original £50 million (~$63.12 million) to £58.5 million (~$73.85 million). This adjustment mirrors the gradual rise in the cost of procuring Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) for the hybrid power projects since the initial investment received approval.
The deal consists of two 4.95 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) sites co-located with two-hour BESS on each site, bringing the total capacity of the Australian Energy Transition Program to 37 MW/60 MWh, across seven projects. The construction of these two hybrid power projects is expected to begin in Q2 2024, with completion expected in early 2025.
Once fully operational, the portfolio aims to combine merchant sales, revenue from frequent stability services, long-term offtake agreements, and transactions involving large-scale generation green certificates.
Richard Lum, Co-CIO of Victory Hill Capital Partners commented: “We continue to make progress with the continued build out of our Australian solar and energy storage hybrid programme. Once operational, these assets will play a meaningful role in providing needed renewable generation into the Australian energy system, as well as helping the system on its transition pathway to net zero. Furthermore, investors are offered a means to access interesting market pricing margins in a risk adjusted way, given we aim to hedge half of all production.”
According to Mercom’s Annual and Q4 2023 Solar Funding and M&A report, 231 large-scale solar project acquisitions in 2023 compared to 268 acquisitions in 2022. In 2023, almost 45.4 GW of solar projects were acquired 2023, compared to 66 GW in 2022, a 31% decline YoY.
Deriva Energy, an independent renewable energy developer, announced acquiring a 140 MW solar project in Las Animas County, Colo. The project was acquired from the JUWI, a solar project developer.
