Enel Acquires Australia’s Largest Ready-to-Build Solar Project
Multi-national power company Enel announced the acquisition of Australia’s largest ready-to-build solar project, the 137.5 megawatt Phase 1 of Bungala Solar One, set to be located near Port Augusta in South Australia.
Enel, through a joint venture between Enel Group’s fully owned renewable energy subsidiary, Enel Green Power S.p.A and Dutch Infrastructure Fund (DIF), closed the agreement to acquire Bungala Solar One solar project, the first 137.5 megawatt (MW) phase of the 275 MW Bungala Solar PV project — which is currently the country’s largest ready-to-build solar project. The deal acquired the project from Bungala Solar Holding, a subsidiary of Australian solar developer Reach Solar Energy.
In its announcement of the acquisition, Enel also confirmed that the purchase of Bungala Solar Two is expected to be closed in the third quarter of this year.
“The acquisition of Australia’s largest PV project, which takes us onto a new continent, is an important step forward for the Enel Group,” said Francesco Starace, Enel CEO and General Manager. “The Australian renewable energy market is characterised by abundant resources and growing demand. Enel will work to harness these resources and contribute to the Australian economy, generating shared value for all our stakeholders through a strategy that delivers industrial growth built upon a foundation of sustainable development.”
In late 2016 it was reported that the Bungala Solar Project would undergo a ten-fold increase in size, according to applications filed by Reach Solar. Construction work at Bungala Solar One is expected to begin sometime in the middle of this year, with construction for Bungala Solar Two expected to begin by the end of the year. Hopes are that Bungala Solar One will be fully operational by the third quarter of 2018.
The joint venture’s total investment into the Bungala Solar Project amounts to around $315 million, with Enel contributing approximately $157 million.
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