Snowy Hydro and GPG, a joint venture of Naturgy Energy Group, SA (75%) and the Kuwait Investment Authority (25%), announced today an agreement to build a 218 MW wind farm located at Victoria State, approximately 300 km from Melbourne.
The wind farm, called Ryan Corner, is estimated to require a total investment of AUD359m (equivalent to approximately €219m) and is expected to start operations in the second half 2022.
The contract awarded consists of a 15 years PPA contract for difference (power purchase agreement) for 75% of the energy produced. Given the characteristics of the awarded contract and the conditions of the Australian market, one of the most attractive countries to invest in renewables, the project fully complies with the investment and profitability criteria required by Naturgy for value creation.
Bet on Australia
Ryan Corner wind farm will be Naturgy’s third investment in Australia, through GPG. Including this project, Naturgy will reach a renewable capacity over 500 MW in the region, together with the Crookwell 2 wind farm (96 MW) currently in operation, and the Berrybank Stage-1 (180 MW) wind farm, close to be operational.
Naturgy is finalizing the permitting of various renewable projects in Australia, which could involve the development of more than 400 MW additional capacity, increasing by 150% its current installed capacity in the country, while becoming the Top-2 independent wind energy producer in Australia. The company has a project pipeline of more than 600 MW in the country and aims to become one of the main independent renewable operators in Australia in the next three years, reaching a total capacity of more than 1.3 GW.
About Global Power Generation (GPG)
Global Power Generation (GPG) is the Naturgy Energy Group’s subsidiary dedicated to international power generation, which is 25% owned by the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), the oldest sovereign fund in the world. KIA’s interest in GPG is managed by the KIA’s direct infrastructure platform, Wren House Infrastructure Management. GPG manages a total installed capacity of 4,100 MW and employs around 800 people worldwide.