The Foresight Group has leveraged both its international investment managers alongside its Sydney-based team to quickly build its Australian solar portfolio. It began exploring Australian market opportunities in 2016.
The fund manager can now boast of a 250 MW PV power plant portfolio in the country, representing over $400 million in investment.
Foresight’s Australian projects are the Baraldine, Oakey 1 and 2, and Longreach solar plants in Queensland, and the Bannerton project in Victoria. The 110 MW Bannerton project will power Melbourne’s iconic tram network – the world’s largest by kilometres of track.
“The solar market moves very quickly and we were fast to establish a cross-border team at the start of 2016 to capitalise on the opportunities,” said Foresight Director Carly Magee, who leads the company’s Australian team. “We are already looking at the solar aggregation opportunity based on our experience of driving investment performance and incremental value in this sector.”
In a statement announcing the milestone, Foresight noted that it is also investing in bioenergy projects, with a capacity of over 130 MW, alongside its solar investments in Australia.
Foresight reports that it has invested some $2.1 billion in around 85 PV power plants currently in operation globally, with a combined peak generating capacity of 1.1 GW. In total, it has $4.6 billion in assets under management.
In October, Foresight issued close to $100 million in shares allowing it to pay down debt and continue to invest in fast-growth large scale solar markets. At the time it specifically pointed to the Australian solar market, noting that it is currently “attractive” and one that “benefits from strong regulatory support.”
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