Frontier Energy has signed a senior debt mandate with Infradebt to progress the stage one development of its Waroona Renewable Energy Project – a 120MWdc solar facility and an 80MW/360MWh DC coupled battery energy storage system.
Under the agreement, Infradebt will provide up to $215 million senior project finance debt for the first stage of the project. The key terms include a debt tenor of 17 years and a repayment structure that will allow the project to maximise exposure to its attractive economics.
Frontier Energy said that the deal also includes a long-term partnership for Infradebt to finance further battery projects developed by the company, including stage two of the project.
Infradebt is an Australian based infrastructure financing specialist and is a lender to multiple renewable energy projects in Australia. The company’s Energy Transition Fund (ETF) is dedicated to financing grid scale batteries. Existing investments include Genex Power’s 50MW/100MWh Bouldercombe Battery in Queensland and Neoen’s 100MW/200MWh Capital Battery in the ACT.
The Infradebt Ethical Fund (IEF) has a number of existing Western Australian exposures, including the 180MW Warradarge Wind Farm, 40MW Greenough Solar Farm and 35MW Albany Grasmere Wind Farm.
Frontier Energy CEO, Adam Kiley, said, “Frontier Energy is delighted to mandate Infradebt, an Australian based infrastructure specialist, to provide debt financing of up to $215 million for the development of Stage One of our Waroona Project.
“The company received multiple credit endorsed proposals as part of the debt financing process from several major financial institutions, however, the Infradebt offer was superior, with a highly attractive tenor and interest rate, whilst also providing greater flexibility compared to alternatives.
“Infradebt’s proposal is also for 100 per cent of the debt financing, meaning the company will only deal with a single party compared to a syndicate solution.”
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