Townsville’s Ross River is set to be the site for a $225-million-dollar development, which will see the construction of a 148MW Solar Farm on a 202-hectare former mango plantation.
Backed by project developer ESCO Pacific and Palisade Investment Partners, plans from the farm obtained development approval from Townsville City Council in June 2016, and the project has recently reached financial close.
ESCO Pacific Managing Director and founder, Steve Rademaker was hugely pleased with the progress around the project so far.
“Achieving financial close on the Ross River Solar Farm demonstrates ESCO Pacific’s ability to deliver projects to a bankable standard. We have a significant pipeline of projects and a proven platform to deliver projects to market over the coming years” Mr Rademaker said.
ESCO has since obtained approval for a further 470MW of solar farms across Queensland, forming part of its secured development pipeline in excess of 1,500MW.
Palisade Managing Director and CEO, Roger Lloyd was similarly elated with the financial close of the project.
“We are excited about this investment which further diversifies Palisade’s renewables portfolio. Palisade’s hands-on approach to taking greenfield projects through the development phase to financial close allows us to shape our investments in a way that minimises risk and maximises returns.” said Mr Lloyd.
ESCO appear likely to receive future investment support from Palisade, with backing from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, which have committed considerable financial support to the tune of $75 million for the Palisade Renewable Energy Fund, and $20 million to the Ross River project, its first foray into investment in a solar farm.
The CEFC says the investment is the first in a series of large-scale solar investments the CEFC will make in Queensland this year as the organisation works with developers on speeding up the delivery of clean energy opportunities.
“CEFC has taken an equity stake in a solar farm, sending an important signal to institutional investors about the commercial potential of greenfield clean energy developments,” the company said in a statement.
A construction commencement date for the Ross River Solar Farm is yet to be confirmed, although a delivery period of 12 months is expected for the project.