ACE teams with Japanese player in 500 MW joint venture

Aspiring renewable energy developer ACE Power will partner with the clean energy arm of Japanese energy giant Osaka Gas to jointly develop a portfolio of Australian solar and battery projects with a total capacity of more than 500 MW.

October 16, 2023 David Carroll

Image: David Carroll

ACE Power has reached agreement with Osaka Gas Energy Oceania (OGEO), a wholly owned subsidiary of global gas and power company Osaka Gas, to develop a portfolio of utility-scale solar and battery energy storage projects spread across New South Wales and Queensland.

Andy Scullion, founder and Managing Director of ACE said the partnership with OGEO is an exciting milestone for the Sydney-headquartered company which has a pipeline comprising more than 6 GWp of wind, solar and battery projects.

Included in that are the already approved 129 MW Burdekin and 72 MW Mareeba solar farms in Queensland, and the 150 MW Narrabri and Forbes solar farms in NSW. ACE said all of the projects are to include battery energy storage systems.

Scullion said the partnership with OGEO underscores ACE’s long-term commitment to delivering renewable energy projects in key regions of Queensland and NSW.

“We look forward to developing these projects with OGEO and bringing them towards construction, whilst contributing to both OGEO’s and Australia’s net-zero targets,” he said.

The joint development activities of the partnership, known as Project Genesis, will initially focus on the development of the circa 500 MW solar and storage portfolio but also allows either party to add more projects into the development pipeline.

For OGEO, the joint venture marks the company’s first utility-scale renewable investment in Australia since 2009 when it invested in the 132 MW North Brown Hill Wind Farm at Hallet, in South Australia.

OGEO Director Yo Otsuka said the partnership with ACE affirms the company’s commitment to the energy transition and the development of renewable energy alternatives.

Osaka Gas, one of Japan’s largest energy service providers with more than 7 million customers, is actively pursuing investment opportunities consistent with its promise to achieve carbon neutrality across its global operations by 2050.

As a part of that vision, Osaka Gas plans to deploy 5 GW of renewable energy assets internationally, including solar, wind and biomass power projects, by 2030.

“The partnership with ACE launches our revived focus on renewables investments, in line with our carbon neutral vision which has significant strategic synergies with our long-term goals,” Otsuka said.

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