Lightsource bp sells five Australian solar farms to Chinese buyer
Lightsource bp says it has sold five of its Australia solar project to the China-based Beijing Energy International Australia (BJEI Australia) for an equity value of $813 million.
The portfolio, which amounts to a total of 1.04 GW (dc), includes the Wellington, West Wyalong and Woolooga projects which are already in operation, and the Wellington North and Wunghnu solar projects which are due to be be operational in the second half of 2024.
The sold assets represent the entirety of the company’s portfolio of assets that are operating and under construction, and part of the company’s normal “recycling” of assets.
Lightsource bp, which will be wholly owned by bp under a deal announced last month, has a portfolio of around 7.5 GW of solar and battery storage assets in Australia and New Zealand.
“The world is reaching a tipping point on climate change and utility-scale solar will play a vital role in establishing a reliable, cost-effective, and lower carbon energy system,” said Adam Pegg, the head of Lightsource bp in the Asia Pacific.
“The development and sale of these assets validates Lightsource bp’s ability to deliver a meaningfully contribution to the energy transition.
“There have been a number of headwinds facing the renewable industry over the past five years, and I am proud that to date we have been able to develop quality projects and deliver value in Australia.
Pegg says the proceeds from the sale will be used to advance projects in New Zealand, Taiwan, and South Korea, as well as Australia.
Its near-term project pipeline includes Lower Wonga, West Makoan, Goulburn River, Sandy Creek, and Gundary solar projects, most of which will be built with large battery storage. The company is also looking to add a big battery to its Woolooga solar project.
Lightsource bp says it is also exploring opportunities in wind and the integration with green hydrogen production.
BJEI Australia chairman Warwick Smith, a former federal Liberal minister, said the purchase took the company’s Australia portfolio to more than 2GW.
“The acquisition further underpins BJEI Australia’s commitment to the Australian renewable energy market,” Smith said, adding that the company planned to float its Australian wind and solar portfolio so it could be majority owned by the Australian public.
“Delivering a renewable energy company of this size and scale to the Australian market will allow for the continued growth of the business and for the Australian public to share in the long-term success of the company moving forward,” he said.
Lightsource bp says it was advised on the transaction by KWM, Macquarie Capital and EY. Rothschild & Co acted as financial adviser and King & Wood Mallesons acted as legal adviser to BJEI Australia.
The oil companies that embarked on the this vertical energy model have figured out the return on assets have is important. Having price bail a lot of poor capital allocation decisions, the accounting metrics have caught up and you see the pivot from a equity investment framework to a buy and flip one. This will allow the oil companies to harvest tax credits & carbon credits without the capital destruction associated with renewables on their balance sheet.
There goes your energy security.... not that you had any with solar anyway!