Carnegie raises $18m for Northam solar farm and micro-grids

Carnegie Clean Energy plans to accelerate its project pipeline of large scale solar farms and renewable-based micro-grids after  securing $18 million in a new capital raising – three times more than its original target.

The listed Perth-based company says the money will be used to fund its equity share of the soon-to-be-built 10MW solar farm in Northam, in West Australia, as well as accelerating its other solar projects and renewable-focused micro-grids.

The company, which has recently transformed from a single-focused wave energy developer to encompass solar, storage and micro-grid technologies, had planned a $6 million capital raising, but expanded the process in response to “overwhelming” demand from shareholders.

“This exceptional response to our capital raise is a clear indication of the support of our shareholders for the expansion of our business into solar, battery storage and micrograms,” CEO Michael Ottaviano said in a statement. “The capital raised will allow us to accelerate our plans to grow the business rapidly across Australia and the region.”

The Northam solar plant is due to begin construction mid-year and be completed before the end of 2017. It is the first plant of a new joint venture between Carnegie and Lend Lease. It will be “battery storage ready”, and will rival the Greenough River solar farm as the biggest solar farm in the state so far.