Edify Energy has reached financial close on its first projects since being acquired by La Caisse, with Smoky Creek and Guthrie’s Gap receiving the support of 14 domestic and international lenders.
Smoky Creek and Guthrie’s Gap will together feature 720 megawatts (MW) of solar and 600MW/2400MWh of battery storage, delivering utility-scale solar generation integrated with battery energy storage and advanced grid-forming inverters. These are the largest solar–BESS hybrids currently in construction.
Finance is being delivered through a “market-first” greenfield renewable energy debt financing platform, set to provide a “scalable foundation for future greenfield project delivery”. No further details were provided on the platform scope.
Accompanying the suite of investor support, the projects are also backed by the Federal Government’s Capacity Investment Scheme, whereby Edify Energy is committed to “providing significant local community and First Nations support”, which includes providing local jobs.
Smoky Creek and Guthrie’s Gap also have the backing of Rio Tinto, which will purchase 90 per cent of the power and battery storage capacity generated by the projects for 20 years. This will provide Rio’s Gladstone aluminium operations with lower-carbon and more affordable energy.
Edify said this was one of the “most advanced examples of firmed solar powering heavy industry”, setting a path for other industrial operators to follow.
“Smoky Creek and Guthrie’s Gap are critical projects in the energy transition, generating cost-effective, reliable and dispatchable renewable energy,” Edify Energy chief executive officer Ben Warne said.
“These are the first projects to reach financial close under La Caisse ownership and reflect the scale of Edify’s and La Caisse’s ambition in making a meaningful contribution to the energy transition.”
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