Ararat Wind Farm signs debt package, commences construction

The Ararat Wind Farm has secured a $200 million debt financing package, along with an additional $76 million in bank guarantees, through a financing consortium comprising Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Export Development Canada (EDC) and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).

The announcement of the debt package signals increased confidence in investment into Australia’s renewable energy sector, with the wind farm one of the first major contracts to be signed following restored bipartisan support for the Renewable Energy Target in June. Debt support from EDC and the CEFC was an important part of the package.

The package comes in the wake of a ground-breaking ceremony which was held last month to celebrate the commencement of construction at the site of Turbine No. 1, which will be among the first to be installed and commissioned from mid-2016. Initial earthworks are already underway.

To date, the Ararat Wind Farm has awarded almost $10 million in contracts to local and Victorian-based businesses for plant, supplies and construction contracts. Recent announcements have included $3 million in civil and construction supply contracts for firms in Ballarat and Horsham, a $4 million contract let in October with Victorian-based Wilson Transformer Company to supply two power transformers for the electrical substation and the announcement in August of an order for 35 of the turbine towers to be manufactured at Keppel Prince Engineering in Portland, Victoria.

The $450 million Ararat Wind Farm will have a lifespan of 25 years and will generate enough electricity to power over 120,000 homes per annum, or approximately 6% of Victoria’s households. The wind farm is expected to deliver first power to the grid in September 2016, with construction to be completed by April 2017.