Macquarie Capital to finance Korea solar-plus-storage project

Macquarie Capital Korea, a subsidiary of Australia’s banking giant Macquarie Group, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the financing of a solar-plus-storage project, as well as what it describes as the largest energy storage project in the country.

According to various reports and sources, Macquarie Capital Korea signed the MoU with Goesan County for the development of a 16MW solar PV project which will be combined with 35MWh of energy storage, which would supply power for the equivalent of 7,700 average homes annually.

Under the terms of the MoU, Macquarie will build the hybrid project and is set to announce the contracted EPC firm soon. Income from the project will be directed towards residents of 100 local households, who will also later take ownership of the project after 25 years.

Additionally, Macquarie also invested in energy storage projects which will be built at five of steel manufacturer’s SeAH Group’s factories across Korea which, upon completion, will have a cumulative capacity of 175MWh and will be the largest in Korea.

It is expected that this latter energy storage project will offset approximately KRW130 billion (US$115 million) in electricity costs over the next 15 years. LSIS, a Korean smart energy company, will provide design, procurement, construction, and operation of the project, while Macquarie will finance and develop the five facilities.

“As renewable energy penetration increases, energy storage increasingly becomes a critical part of the modern energy infrastructure,” explained Macquarie Capital Korea chairman John Walker.

“Macquarie is a leading investor in the energy storage sector, having made investments in various markets around the world, and is committed to supporting the Korean government’s policies in improving the efficiency of the Korean electricity infrastructure by constantly developing innovative methods of developing and financing new technologies.”