Allens acts for financiers of WA wind farm
14 April 2010
Allens Arthur Robinson (Allens) has advised the financiers of the development, construction and operation of the Collgar Wind Farm in Western Australia.
The financier group was made up of ANZ, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, WestLB, Westpac and Danish export credit agency EKF.
The 206MW wind farm will provide clean, renewable electricity to the Western Australian power grid under a 15-year power and green credits purchase agreement with Synergy.
Allens Partner Phillip Cornwell and Senior Associate Simran Sandhu, supported by a team of experts in the firm's Perth office, advised the financier group on the transaction. Key challenges included cross-border negotiations with EKF – the Danish export credit agency which provided just under half of the construction and term facilities – to resolve some novel intercreditor issues arising out of certain structural features of the financing.
In addition, the financing – which survived the Global Financial Crisis – successfully closed at the same time as institutional investors completed their acquisition of the project from sponsor Investec, raising the additional challenge of closing Collgar's debt and equity arrangements simultaneously.
'Meeting the needs of both the debt and equity interests required precise timing, and also required the balancing of sometimes conflicting requirements between the parties,' said Mr Cornwell.
'We were very happy to have worked on such a significant transaction. The successful completion of the deal in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis is a testament to the commitment and perseverance of all parties to the project.
'This transaction marks the increased interest of long-term investors in the infrastructure and renewable energy sectors and we look forward to working on many more projects and contributing to the growth of the renewable energy industry in Australia,' Mr Cornwell added.
Collgar has entered into agreements with Danish company Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer, for turbine supply, construction and the ongoing operation and maintenance of the wind farm. At the completion of its construction in 2012, Collgar is expected to be one of Australia's largest wind farms, forecast to produce more electricity than the combined output of Western Australia's two biggest existing wind farms, at Emu Downs and Albany, and lift total renewable energy generation in the main electricity grid from 5 per cent to almost 9 per cent.
Ends
| Allens legal team | Phillip Cornwell (Partner – Sydney), Simran Sandhu (Senior Associate – Sydney), Valeria Cooney (Senior Associate – Perth), Douglas Fung (Senior Associate – Sydney), Robyn Glindemann (Senior Associate – Perth), Rosemary Martin (Special Counsel – Perth), Clare McNeill (Lawyer- Sydney) and Amy Cashman (Law Graduate - Sydney) |
For further information, please contact:
- Jane FoleyCorporate Communications Coordinator,
Melbourne
Ph: +61 3 9613 8503
Jane.Foley@aar.com.au
Notes for editors..
Allens Arthur Robinson has staff in 14 cities and eight countries across the Asia Pacific.
