Metlen Energy and Metals announced it has reached financial close with lenders on a refinancing of its Australian portfolio of seven operational and construction-stage solar PV assets totalling more than 420 MW.
Formerly known as Mytilineos, Metlen said the $460 million (USD 300 million) refinancing package ecompasses all its operating and under construction solar assets in Australia.
These include the operational 75 MW Wyalong, 49 MW Wagga, and 40 MW Corowa and Junee solar farms in New South Wales, and the 100 MW Moura and 40 MW Kingaroy PV power plants in Queensland. It also includes the 120 MW Munna Creek Solar Farm being constructed near Gympie in southwest Queensland.
Metlen said the projects were acquired, financed and constructed over the past six years as part of the company’s strategic investment into the Australian market, which it described as “a competitive power market undergoing significant transition.”
Once all solar farms are fully operational, the portfolio is expected to generate almost 1 TWh of renewable energy annually.
About 70% of Metlen’s Australian output is contracted under long-term power purchase agreements with customers including supermarket giant Coles, telcos Telstra and NBN, Queensland government-owned generator CS Energy, and retailers Smartest Energy and Zen Energy.
Metlen’s new pool of financiers are Deutsche Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo (IMI CIB Division) and Westpac Banking Corporation. The package is structured with a $269 million operating term facility, a $158 million construction facility related to the Munna Creek project and $33 million of ancillary facilities.
The company said “this success in Australia is another decisive step toward realising Metlen’s vision, strengthening its global footprint, and adding long-term value to its energy portfolio.”
The portfolio refinancing comes after Metlen last year launched a sale process of its Australian renewable energy assets with Macquarie as its advisor.
Metlen, which has a consolidated turnover of more than $10 billion (€5.68 billion), operates the largest vertically integrated aluminium business in Europe and has also built 10.5 GW in renewables generation capacity across the globe.
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