Carnegie reports CEO’s resignation, IBA raises stake in Northam farm

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In a flurry of announcements to the ASX, Carnegie Clean Energy stated Michael Ottaviano has stepped down as CEO after more than a decade at the helm, and reported the status of its major projects.

The renewables firm said one of the co-owners in its flagship 10 MW Northam Solar Farm, Indigenous Business Australia (IBA), will acquire an additional stake from Carnegie for approximately $2.5 million.

Late last year, IBA and Perth Noongar Foundation were selected as co-investors in the WA’s first merchant utility solar project, acquiring a collective 50% ownership of the Northam Solar Project, alongside Carnegie’s 50%.

In what is its first renewable energy investment, IBA has now increased its exposure. As explained earlier by CEO Ottaviano, the Northam merchant solar farm is financially viable, as it relies on three revenue streams: Large-scale Generation Certificate (LGC), WA capacity market payments and wholesale electricity prices on the SWIS.

According to the latest statement, the project remains on track to commence commercial operations in the last quarter of the 2018, as previously announced when Carnegie broke ground on the project in March.

Furthermore, Carnegie reports its Garden Island Microgird, comprising 2 MW solar PV and 2MW/0.5MWh battery system, is still waiting to be be switched on. The project won $1.63 million grant from ARENA earlier this year, but has suffered delays as a result of parallel infrastructure upgrades at the HMAS Stirling naval base.

Carnegie added its CSIRO Pathfinder and RAF Delamere microgrid projects are operational since August 2018.   

In relation to its solar microgrid subsidiary, Energy Made Clean, Carnegie said it would renegotiate its asset sale deal with Tag Pacific. The sale was to see Carnegie shareholders receiving a 32% equity share in the new entity to be rebadged as MPower.

In a separate ASX release, the company announced leadership change, without specifying the reason behind it.

“The Company thanks Michael for his unwavering leadership and commitment to Carnegie. He and the team have taken CETO [wave power technology] from a concept through to one of the most advanced wave technologies globally and driven the development of our Northam solar and Garden Island microgrid projects,“ Carnegie’s Chairman, Mr Terry Stinson, said.

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