Clean Energy Finance highlights for 2014–15

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has released an update into its activities over the past 12 months. The year to 30 June 2015 saw the corporation commit new investments of close to $500 million in eight new projects, taking its total commitments to invest over the two years since inception to more than $1.4 billion.

During its second full year of operation, the CEFC made investments which are intended to drive the commercial deployment of new technologies and the development of innovative business models. New commitments included $246m in renewables — $199m for solar, $37m for wind and $10m for waste-to-energy/bioenergy — with a further $238m in energy-efficiency projects. A $15m investment in remote solar and storage was finalised just after the end of the financial year.

The CEFC also widened market opportunities and launched new financing options for small and mid-sized business through co-financing programs with major banks and other financiers, as well as energy companies. These aggregation financing programs, focused on energy-efficient equipment and solar energy, are said to extend the benefits of CEFC finance to a broader market than would be possible via CEFC investing alone.

The CEFC’s new initiatives since July 2014 are:

• A $125m investment in greener buildings via an equity stake in the EG Group’s $400m High Income Sustainable Office Trust (HISOT), which will invest in older office stock to upgrade their energy performance to revitalise and reposition them in the market.
• A $120m Energy Efficiency Bonus equipment financing program by NAB to accelerate the uptake of energy-efficient vehicles and clean energy equipment by businesses and agricultural enterprises.
• A $100m investment in Origin’s Solar as a Service program to drive power purchase agreements (PPAs) for commercial and residential solar.
• A cornerstone investment of up to $75m in the inaugural issue of NAB’s Climate Bond issuance.
• A $50m investment with Firstmac in an innovative securitised financing program to provide options to help accelerate business and personal adoption of low-emission and electric vehicles, as well as solar plus storage and energy-efficient equipment.
• A $10m loan to Landfill Gas Industries for investment in Queensland waste-to-energy operations, producing electricity from previously wasted landfill gas.
• A $4.7m loan for a yet-to-be-announced solar development in the Northern Territory.

A further financing closed following the end of the 2014–15 financial year — a loan of up to $15m for the development of the 10.6 MW solar plant with 6 MW of battery storage at Sandfire Resources’ DeGrussa Copper-Gold Mine, 900 km north-east of Perth.

The CEFC has now made over 55 direct investments, with a further 34 projects financed under co-financing programs. When built and operational, these projects are expected to abate 4.2 million tonnes CO₂e annually, with a positive net benefit to the taxpayer.

“The CEFC has been active in working with businesses, developers and co-financiers in accelerating Australia’s transformation towards a more competitive economy in a carbon-constrained world,” said CEFC CEO Oliver Yates.

“We have continued to act as a catalyst to increase investment in emissions reduction by providing finance for renewable energy and energy-efficiency projects. During the year, we were pleased to support the development of new financing and market delivery models that accelerate the uptake of new technologies.”