Genex Power has received credit approvals on a AU$35 million (US$25.26 million) debt finance facility for its 50MW/100MWh Bouldercombe battery energy storage system (BESS) project in Queensland, Australia.
The renewables and energy storage developer said in an announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) that it has agreed the financing deal with Infradebt, a specialist project finance fund management and financing company focusing on the energy transition space.
The debt finance will allow Genex to “retain upside exposure to the attractive economics of energy storage and maximise the economic returns of the project,” the company’s CEO James Harding said.
Genex said it will now negotiate final terms with Infradebt and take the project to its financial close.
Bouldercombe Battery Project (BBP) will be one of Queensland’s first large-scale standalone BESS facilities. Scheduled to come online in the second half of 2023, the 12-year term of the Infradebt loan kicks in once commercial operations commence.
Genex selected technology provider Tesla to supply the full integrated battery storage solution to BBP, in the form of 40 of the US-headquartered company’s Megapack BESS units which have also been used at Australia’s biggest battery project to date, the 300MW/450MWh Victorian Big Battery, which power producer Neoen recently brought online in the state of Victoria.
Tesla’s Autobidder machine learning algorithm-based bidding system will also operate the BESS’ dispatch and trading activities. Genex and Tesla signed an eight-year off-take deal for that, which after the deal expires is expected to be renegotiated as a licensing deal.
In addition to the AU$35 million debt finance, Infradebt has signed a Cooperation Agreement with Genex to continue working on financing other merchant BESS projects in Australia. The financial leverage that agreement will enable means Genex will retain upside from battery storage market economics, the company said.
