Australian government-owned Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has invested AU$490m in grid infrastructure.
The CEFC has invested in New South Wales (NSW) EnergyCo, which is responsible for leading the delivery of Renewable Energy Zones (REZ) in Australia. The bank’s commitment is to finance the Central-West Orana REZ.
Australia’s CEFC has provided the debt finance to EnergyCo through its Rewiring the Nation Fund (RTN), which has AU$19bn of capital to invest in net zero-focused projects.
Ian Learmonth, CEFC’s CEO, said: “The Central-West Orana REZ, centred around Dubbo, is a truly transformative project for Australia’s low emissions future and for the NSW economy.
“It will deliver a bigger, stronger, cleaner and more reliable energy grid fit for the 21st century. With an additional 4.5 GW in network capacity, it will also unlock new low-cost solar and wind generation, backed up by battery storage.”
The CEFC’s AU$490m investment in EnergyCo will also help the company purchase biodiversity offsets to carry out conservation management and preservation activities in NSW. It also included the provision of CEFC concessional finance on more favourable terms than available in the market.
“Investing in our energy grid is one of the most exciting and important tasks ahead of us as we look to our net zero future. There is both urgency and opportunity. As much as 46% of coal generation will exit our energy system by 2030, and 100 per cent by 2038,” Learmonth added.
