Keen to grow its 28.3GW footprint, it’s no surprise that Singaporean energy giant Sembcorp Industries was enticed by Australia’s geopolitically-sound energy sector.
The company completed its acquisition of Alinta Energy last week, signalling its first foray into Australia.
Despite Alinta boasting a stake in one operating renewable energy project, clean energy was a central focus of the acquisition. For Sembcorp, it’s the pipeline that counts.
Alongside its 30 per cent share of the 214MW Yandin wind farm in WA, Alinta has nine renewable energy projects in the works – spanning grid-scale battery storage, onshore and offshore wind farms, and a pumped hydro project in NSW.
Sembcorp has invested more than $5.9 billion in renewable energy projects since 2020, boosting its renewables capacity from 3.2GW to 20.2GW through both mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and greenfield developments.
The acquisition will help Sembcorp chase its goal of 25GW in renewables assets by 2028.
“The company is committed to redeploy capital into Australia to execute Alinta’s pipeline of renewable development projects,” a Sembcorp statement said when the acquisition was first announced.
“The acquisition will increase Sembcorp’s generation portfolio exposure capacity in developed markets from 25% to 31%, deepening its presence in markets with clear policy frameworks and growing energy demand.”
Want more content like this? Subscribe to Energy and discover all you need to know about the energy transition.
Sembcorp acknowledges that Australia’s energy sector is on the path to decarbonisation while targeting reliability and affordability.
“As new renewables capacity is developed, existing generation assets such as the Loy Yang B power station are playing a critical role in providing secure, low-cost and flexible baseload power to maintain grid stability and support households and industry,” the company said.
Without confirming its specific plans for Loy Yang B, which is slated for closure in 2047, Sembcorp said it will “work constructively and in tandem with government, industry and communities to deliver both reliable and affordable power and support energy transition policies”.
No changes will be made to Alinta’s existing management team and operational structure, with Alinta managing director and chief executive officer Jeff Dimery to continue to lead the company’s day-to-day operations.
