FRV refinances solar and battery portfolio with help from Australia’s green bank

Fotowatio Renewable Ventures Australia has refinanced its entire portfolio of eight solar farms and a battery energy energy storage system (BESS) in a massive $1.2 billion deal. 

The refinancing required eleven international and domestic backers to agree to terms for the debt package that covers all of FRV’s debt and creates a new line of credit.  

The number of funders matches that required by Akaysha for the $650 million deal it signed for the 415 megawatts (MW)/ 1660 megawatt hours (MWh) Orana battery, and is an indication of how challenging funding is to lock in for renewables projects.

The refinancing secures FRV’s current operations in Australia and provides a foundation for continued growth, says CEO Carlo Frigerio.

FRV also has the Lauriston solar project in New Zealand which is not part of this refinancing deal.

FRV’s new pool of financiers are ING, Westpac, MUFG, Société Générale, Norddeutsche Landesbank, Mizuho Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, United Overseas Bank, the Australian government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), China Construction Bank, and Agricultural Bank of China. 

FRV Australia, owned by a Saudi investment fund and a Canadian infrastructure fund, has a portfolio containing almost 1 gigawatt (GW) of solar and 102.5MW / 205MWh of batteries includes six operational solar farms, a hybrid solar and BESS project, the 100MW/200MWh Terang BESS which is still under construction in Victoria, and the Walla Walla solar farm under construction in NSW. 

FRV is also still proposing to build the Gnarwarre BESS, a 250MW/500MWh project that it bought from Ace Energy in 2021 alongside the Terang battery.

The CEFC’s portion of the funding was $90 million and its focus was very much on FRV’s grid-forming BESS strategy.

“Battery storage has an important role to play in decarbonising the Australian energy network and transitioning to a grid powered by renewable energy. The Terang BESS will provide critical grid support, ensuring clean energy is delivered to Victorian homes and businesses,” said CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth.

“Alongside our key role in the delivery of the Australian Government’s Rewiring the Nation program, this is another example of how the CEFC is supporting the technology that will develop our low emissions 21st century electricity grid.”

The CEFC previously invested in FRVs Moree solar farm in 2013, the funders’ first foray into solar at the time, and in 2022 invested $100 million in the Walla Walla solar farm.