Frontier Energy says it has secured firm commitments from investors to raise AUD 110 million before costs through a conditional placement to help fund the first stage of its Waroona Renewable Energy Project in Western Australia.
The initial stage of the project, being developed on an 820-hectare landholding about 120 km south of the state capital, Perth, is to include a 132 MW solar farm along with an 81.5 MW/565 MWh battery energy storage system. Capital cost for this stage is listed at AUD 327 million, including contingency.
Frontier said the capital estimate includes a larger solar plant, which has been boosted from the original 120 MW due to the adoption of higher-efficiency 660 W modules, up from 610 W. The capacity of the battery has also been expanded from the original 80 MW/360 MWh to comply with reserve capacity obligations and to allow for greater flexibility to maximize energy sales into periods of greatest demand.
The Perth-headquartered developer said these changes will “increase energy generation and sales and improve the economics” for the first stage of the planned multi-stage project that is expected to eventually include about 1 GW of solar generation capacity and up to 660 MW of battery storage.
Frontier Executive Chairman Jamie Cullen said the equity raising represents “a pivotal achievement” for the project as it paves the way for “stage one senior debt finance to progress towards binding credit approval and financial close.”
“We will then be ready to commence building stage one and continue development work on stage two,” he said, adding that “the appetite from new investors highlights the quality of our stage one project and the pipeline for future development at Waroona to create a major renewable energy precinct in the southwest of Western Australia.”
As part of the stage one financing process, Frontier said it has advanced all major engineering, procurement, and construction contracts toward execution. This includes major works and key equipment supply contracts.
Frontier is aiming to start construction on the first stage later this year, with operations commencing in late 2027.
The funding milestone follows the announcement that the first stage of the project was among the winners of Western Australia’s first Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) tender. Frontier has also been assigned capacity credits for stage one of the Waroona project as part of the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) Reserve Capacity Mechanism (RCM).
From pv magazine Australia
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