Edify Energy reaches financial close on another pair of solar and battery hybrid projects

Edify Energy has reached financial close on its Ganymirra and Majors Creek solar and battery hybrid project in Queensland, backed by a funding pool of $3.2 billion.

The adjacent projects are being built as a single unit and combined will bring 360 megawatts (MW) of solar and a 300 MW, four hour battery to the grid in 2028. 

Edify Energy, now owned by Canadian giant La Caisse, says 14 local and international lenders kicked in to fund the projects.

The latest funding win comes three months after Edify reached financial close on another Queensland duo, the combined 600 MW solar at Smoky Creek and Guthrie’s Gap and 600 MW, four hours worth of battery storage, with the same 14 lenders.   

The total funding from these lenders is $3.2 billion and part of that is a pool that isn’t limited to the four projects now underway, the developer says. 

DT Infrastructure won the contract to build all of these projects, but with Smoky Creek and Guthrie’s Gap costing around $1.2 billion, there is plenty of cash in the kitty.

Some $450 million is expected to go into local communities through regional supply chains, local employment, First Nations businesses and associated economic activity.

All of these projects as well as the 300 MW Nowingi solar project in Victoria have secured the right to underwriting agreements under the federal government’s Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS).

Edify Energy chief Ben Warne is thankful for “strong support” provided by the CIS.

“[It] continues to accelerate investment in renewable energy generation and dispatchable capacity,” he said in a statement. 

“These projects represent the third and fourth projects to reach financial close with the scheme’s support.

“The combination of large-scale solar generation, reverse DC-coupled battery storage and advanced grid-forming technology means these projects can provide the affordable energy, reliability, flexibility and system support that the future electricity network requires.”

Investors are still very keen on solar hybrids, with La Caisse’s $1.2 billion purchase of Edify Energy and the continued interest by those 14 lenders in backing big solar and batteries evidence the appetite isn’t diminishing. 

But these deals also mean Edify will be able to drive a harder bargain with any offtakers, as they no longer need to rely on buyers to get the projects into financial close. 

The developer has 19 solar projects and 25 batteries, either standalone or backing up PV, in its portfolio. 

To join more than 29,000 others and get the latest clean energy news delivered straight to your inbox, for free, click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.