Chinese solar enterprise Risen Energy announced on October 28 that it will transfer its Merredin Solar Farm in Australia to Merredin Project Company Pty Ltd. The transaction is valued at AUD 185.5373 million.
Located in the state of Western Australia between Perth and Kalgoorlie, the Merredin Solar Farm spans an area of 460ha and has a total generation capacity of 132MW. It deploys around 360,000 mono-Si PERC modules provided by Risen and mounted on single-axis tracking systems. The grid connection of the solar farm was conducted in several phases, with the final phase completed this August. The solar farm is now in commercial operation; and according to its official website, it is expected to output 281GWh per year. This amount is sufficient to meet the power demand from 42,000 homes in the state. A Chinese renewable energy news website reported that the solar farm produced approximately 68GWh during the entire 2020 and 168GWh between January and September this year.
Risen stated that the deal will improve company’s asset management capability and recoup the cost of building the solar farm. The cash from the transaction is also expected to be used to develop new PV projects outside China. This, in turn, will help expand Risen’s market share and influence in the global market for utility-scale PV projects. On the whole, Risen regards the deal as a part of its overall strategy for the development of projects in overseas markets. Based on the exchange rate on October 26, the company estimates that the pre-tax profit from the sale of the solar farm will reach around CNY 43 million. This figure is subject to a final audit.
The Merredin Solar Farm has a 10-year PPA with BHP Nickel West. The project supplies the electricity that powers BHP’s smelter and refinery that are respectively located in Kalgoorlie and Kwinana. The agreement was modified this August to increase the amount of allotted generation capacity from 20MW to 50MW. Website Power Technology reported on October 29 that Sun Energy will be acquiring the Merredin Solar Farm. Hence, Merredin Project Company is apparently serving as a trustee to facilitate the acquisition. Power Technology also said that the solar farm has been approved to install an onsite BESS with a capacity reaching 20MW/40MWh.
