Renewable fund lands new financing deal to help chase new projects

The recently launched Intera Renewables has landed $258 million in non-recourse project financing that it says will help with the development and construction of new wind and solar projects.

Intera was spun out of Pallisade Investment Partners just over a year ago, and its 1 gigawatt (GW) portfolio includes four wind farms in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, and the Ross River solar farm in Queensland.

However, it has not announced any new project developments since its launch last year, but appears ready to now grow its portfolio as the country seeks to accelerate the rollout of new wind and solar projects to meet its 2030 renewable targets.

The new project finance deal was led by Deutsche Bank and refinances a tranche of the existing $1.3 billion portfolio financing provided by Palisade at the launch of Inter last year. Palisade holds a 50 per cent interest in Intera, and other shareholders include super fund Hesta, Aware Super, and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).

Palisade Executive Director Simon Parbery described the refinancing as a “natural evolution” of the platform’s capital structure following its establishment.

“We welcome Deutsche Bank into the platform as a strategic partner and appreciate their support in both de- risking Intera’s capital structure and pursuing our growth ambitions,” he said in a statement.

Rachel Chia, the head of project finance in the Asia Pacific for Deutsche Bank, said the refinaning “demonstrates DB’s commitment to sustainable financing and solidifies our relationship with Palisade and Intera.”

Rachel Chia, the head of project finance in the Asia Pacific for Deutsche Bank, said the refinaning “demonstrates DB’s commitment to sustainable financing and solidifies our relationship with Palisade and Intera.”