MPower snaps up two 5MW solar farms, kicking off its big small-scale plans

MPower’s plans to build, own and operate an Australian portfolio of up to 20 small solar farms of 5MW each is starting to bear fruit, with purchase agreements locked in for the first two project sites.

The renewable microgrid specialist said on Tuesday that the two solar projects, slated for development in Narromine, New South Wales, and Mangalore, Victoria, had secured Asset Purchase Agreements with a total combined consideration of $1.3 million.

Completion of the purchase of each solar farm would take place when the project was fully permitted and had achieved shovel ready status, MPower said, with the purchase price to be initially funded from existing cash reserves.

The Narromine project, which was being developed by ITP Renewables roughly 40km west of Dubbo, is expected to be shovel ready within the next three months and generating revenue in mid 2023. Once complete it will have the capacity to produce more than 14,000MWh of electricity a year.

The Mangalore project by Tetris Energy sits around 120km north of Melbourne and is expected to be shovel ready by the end of 2021 and generating revenue during in the second half of 2023. It is expected to generate more than 10,500MWh of electricity in its first year.

MPower, which is a subsidiary of Tag Pacific, said the two solar projects had been selected due to “the high compatibility of the sites for solar generating activities,” and noted that work was underway on purchase agreements for other projects over which it had secured exclusivity.

The NSW-based company said it was encouraged by the level of interest in its BOO (build, own, operate) strategy, with a number of financing options for green energy power generation projects being considered.

“Securing our first purchase agreements over two sites is a pleasing development and marks a material step in advancing our plans to establish a portfolio of 20 renewable energy sites under our BOO model,” said MPower CEO Nathan Wise.

“As the total number of sites secured continues to scale, the company’s focus continues to shift further towards Build Own Operate activities. Deploying more of the Company’s resources to these initiatives is expected to deliver superior returns and unlock considerable value for shareholders in the longer term. This is the focus for our team now.”