Former ARENA CEO joins board of solar farm developer

The inaugural and only recently departed CEO of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, Ivor Frischknecht, has joined the advisory board of Sydney-based solar farm developer, Elliott Green Power.

The company – which owns the 95MW Susan River Solar Farm in Queensland – said on Monday that Frischknecht, alongside fellow low-carbon investment pioneer Mark Woodall, had been appointed to advise the company, as it seeks to grow its large-scale solar portfolio.

On top of Susan River, the company is developing the 56MW(AC) Childers Solar Farm, also in Queensland, and the Nevertire Solar Farm (105MW) in the New South Wales town of the same name.

EGP chief Umberto Tamburrino said the company expected to benefit greatly from Frischknecht’s and Woodall’s experience in the energy sector, particularly as the company focuses on providing reliable and affordable energy to corporate customers.

“Their depth of knowledge and industry experience within the renewable energy sector ensures our growing business is innovative and responds to the needs of energy users,” Tamburrino said.

Elliott Green Power is owned by funds that Elliott Management Corp advises. As we reported here, Elliott Management Corporation is a $US35 billion US hedge fund management company.

Elliott Green Power’s Susan Rivers and Childers solar farms were the first two solar farms in Australia to sign up to a financial instrument known as a “proxy revenue swap” that protects it from variations in output.

The hedging product, offered by Nephila Holdings Ltd and Allianz Global’s alternative risk transfer unit, has largely been used by developers to de-risk wind farms.

The timing of the appointment of Frischknecht and Woodall is good for EGP. As Giles Parkinson explains here, corporate investment in large-scale renewable energy will be more important than ever, with the re-election of the federal Coalition – which still has no discernible policy on energy, for Australia, let alone renewable energy or climate change.

Corporate support of large-scale renewables will also be particularly important in Queensland, where new state rules are expected to drive up project costs, and potentially delay delivery schedules for solar projects of 100kW and above.