Naturgy, through its subsidiary Global Power Generation (GPG) has closed a financing of AUD284m (£155m) for the construction of 180MW Berrybank wind farm in Australia.
Naturgy was awarded the wind project last August and will be located in the state of Victoria, about 150km from Melbourne.
Naturgy closed the financing with VISION, a vehicle for financing onshore wind projects, launched in collaboration with JP Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM) and Vestas Wind Systems.
VISION will offer 100% financing, which will be allotted for the construction phase of the wind farm and has already obtained the required regulatory approvals.
The financing will be used on the construction of the Berrybank wind farm, which is expected to come into operation in the second quarter of next year.
The wind farm is supported by a 15-year power purchase agreement at a regulated tariff and is expected to triple the forecast growth in renewable capacity for this period.
In March, Naturgy announced that the first wind turbines of the El Tesorillo Wind Farm had been installed. This wind farm with 26MW of power generating capacity, is located in Jimena de la Frontera (Cadiz), Spain.
Work will continue with the installation of other wind turbines until all the 12 are in place. The wind farm is expected to be completed in the second half of this year.
With an investment of €25m (£22.1m), the wind farm is expected to create nearly 200 jobs during the various phases of construction, operation and maintenance. Annually, it will generate about 84GWh of clean energy, which is enough to power 24,000 Spanish homes.
In February, Naturgy inaugurated the 40MW Merengue wind farm, located in Extremadura region of Spain.
Powered by 15 of Siemens Gamesa’s 2.6MW turbines, the wind farm will generate about 155GWh of clean energy will be enough to power 44,000 homes. The project was built with an investment of €40m and has created nearly 250 jobs during the construction phase.
