RES doubles Australian renewables asset base with Blueshore purchase

UK renewables giant RES, which is developing plans for a massive wind, solar and battery storage facility in Victoria, has doubled its renewables asset management portfolio in Australia after the acquisition of Sydney firm, Blueshore.

Blueshore, which provides commercial, technical and financial asset management services for solar and wind projects, has built up a portfolio of 1.6GW since its launch in 2017 and become one of the largest independent asset managers in Australia.

Among its assets it counts the Royalla Solar Farm, south of Canberra, which is small, but boasts the title of the first utility-scale solar farm to connect to Australia’s National Electricity Market in 2014.

RES, the world’s biggest independent renewable energy developer, said on Monday that its purchase of Blueshore effectively doubled its asset management portfolio in Australia to more than 3GW.

The company, which last August unveiled plans for a massive wind, solar and battery storage facility near Stawell in western Victoria, said the acquisition would also bring RES new capabilities, new customer relationships and allow it to diversify in the fast-growing Australian market.

“Both [companies] share a common culture and mission to provide value to our clients through the delivery of innovative products and services that go to the core of maximising the value of operating assets,” said Grant Harris, RES’s newly appointed director of asset management for Asia Pacific.

“Bringing together two highly experienced teams in this dynamic and growing sector enables us to offer the broadest range of solutions for the owners of renewable energy projects,” Harris said.

“The transaction represents an exciting step both for Blueshore and for the Australian renewable industry, with the
combined teams set to form a powerhouse of expertise in the management and optimisation of Australian renewable energy assets,” said Blueshore founder Mike Rand.

For RES, the acquisition of Blueshore gives it more than 9GW of operational wind, solar and storage projects assets across the globe.

In Australia, RES has a development portfolio of more than 4.7GW and an asset management portfolio of more than 1.5GW, excluding the Blueshore assets.