Genex Power wins new CEFC fund for first phase of 50MW solar farm in Australia

Australia-based Genex Power has secured a new investment in debt finance from Clean Energy Finance (CEFC) to develop the first phase of a 50MW solar farm at its Kidston Renewable Energy Hub near Townsville.

For the development of the project, Genex Power will convert the current Queensland gold mine site to a solar farm.

The new A$54m ($41m) CEFC fund will also be used to develop Australia’s first of its kind project that will enable the co-location of a large-scale solar farm with a large-scale pumped hydro storage project.

According to Genex, construction of phase one of the Kidston solar farm has already been started.

Clean Energy Finance large-scale solar lead Gloria Chan said: “The CEFC is delighted to be part of the Kidston Solar Project Phase One, with our tailored finance helping accelerate the construction and delivery of the 50MW large-scale solar farm on this unique site.

“This substantial solar farm is ideally located in an area of high solar penetration, and will be able to produce enough energy to meet the needs of almost 26,500 homes once it starts generating power later this year.”

Recently, CEFC committed A$150m ($114m) fund for three large-scale solar programmes in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.

Genex Power managing director Michael Addison said: “As an ASX-listed company focused on renewable energy generation and storage, we are pleased to partner with the CEFC to develop this project.

“The development of the Kidston Renewable Energy Hub is an important step in the transition of the Australian economy to a clean, low carbon economy.”

The company also said that it is planning to secure financial arrangements for the 250MW Kidston pumped storage hydro project, which will be co-located with the 50MW solar farm.