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Tue, December 22, 2020 – 6:26 pm
A wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Corporation has signed an agreement to undertake development of its first solar farm project, Keppel Corp said on Tuesday.
In the agreement signed through its wholly-owned subsidiary KRE Anchorage, Keppel Renewable Energy (KRE) agreed to pay a nominal sum of A $ 540 (S $ 545) for a 45 percent interest in Harlin Solar Pty Ltd, an entity Special Purpose Established in August 2020 to develop a totally new large-scale solar farm in Queensland, Australia. The acquisition is subject to approval by the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board.
KRE also committed to provide a loan of up to A $ 3.24 million to finance the development cost of the project.
Veteran Australian developer Anthony Youssef and Australian renewable energy company New Energy Development own the remaining 55% of Harlin Solar’s issued common shares. Upon reaching certain development milestones, Keppel will have options to acquire the remaining interests for a maximum aggregate consideration of A $ 52.35 million.
KRE will lead the development and management of the construction and operation of the solar park, which will be located on a site of more than 2,000 ha. Construction is expected to start in 2022 and be completed in 2023.
The project is expected to have a capacity of at least 500 MW, or enough power to supply more than 142,000 average Australian households. It will connect to the national energy market for public consumption and for companies seeking sustainable energy solutions, including Keppel-related companies in Australia.
Chris Ong, managing director of KRE, said the project is part of Keppel’s Vision 2030, which focuses the group’s strategy on sustainability and includes the goal of increasing the group’s portfolio of renewable assets to seven GW by 2030.
“Keppel Renewable Energy will collaborate with other business units and leverage the technical and commercial capabilities of the entire group to develop, own and operate renewable energy infrastructure in a profitable, safe and reliable manner,” said Ong, adding that KRE can also work with the group’s asset management platforms to finance the project.
Shares of Keppel Corp closed at S $ 5.30 before the announcement, down 0.94 percent or 5 Singapore cents.
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