Frasers Property Group has secured a $300 million sustainability linked loan partially funded by the Australian government connected to the developer’s ability to meet global sustainability benchmarks.
The loan will see innovative distributed energy generation models installed at Rubix Connect Estate in Victoria and the Horsley Park Estate in New South Wales with onsite solar, battery storage and a biodiesel generator.
Frasers Property energy retailer Real Utilities will provide also provide carbon neutral electricity to the properties’ common areas and its tenants.
Of the loan, $75 million was provided through the Australian government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC). CEO of the corporation, Ian Learmonth, highlighted the potentially positive ramifications for industrial property development following from Frasers Property’s plans. “This new model has the potential to revolutionise energy use in industrial property,” Learmonth said in a statement.
It is understood Frasers Property plans to introduce a range of sustainability features in addition to solar and energy storage, including passive design, LED lighting with advanced controls, energy monitoring systems and building electrification.
The sustainability linked loan marks Frasers Property’s fifteenth green financing credit since 2018. As of December 2020, the development group had secured sustainability linked financing totalling AU$3.8 billion.
This $300 million loan was awarded to incentivise sustainable practices and has a reducing pricing structure with interest cost reduction from the second year onwards if Frasers Property’s subsidiaries maintain a four-star rating or above in each of their Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmarks.
Decarbonising the property sector
In 2020, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency chipped in over $700,000 to help Frasers Property Australia build 51 energy efficient homes complete with a solar embedded network. The idea is to demonstrate to the wider housing sector that energy efficient homes can be built at scale and be cost-effective to the customer.
Frasers Property Group states on its website that it has installed 13.69 MW of solar PV across its portfolio, which includes both residential and industrial developments.
The group’s Australian branch has set a target to be net zero carbon by 2028.
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