Tennenbaum Capital Partners and Goldman Sachs BDC, a business development company managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, have signed an agreement to acquire Conergy Asia & ME and its subsidiaries (Conergy) from Kawa Solar Holdings.
Conergy’s Australian arm has developed Australia’s first utility-scale solar and battery project – the Lakeland Solar & Storage Project – in Far North Queensland.
Conergy Australia managing director Christopher West said the sale would ensure it had capital to expand on its pipeline of large-scale solar projects.
“Unsubsidised large-scale solar is beginning to beat not only wind but also coal and natural gas and you have state governments like Queensland’s announcing really ambitious renewable targets, mirroring growing community sentiment toward a lower carbon future,” West said.
“Given the political uncertainty in the sector in the last few years, many companies have struggled to find reliable sources of funds. There is a real transformation taking place in the local market and Conergy are now pitched to play a large part in it.
Conergy is working on an expansion of its Lakeland Solar & Storage project, pictured above, which is poised to deliver 13MW of solar generation and storage.
“We’re looking at adding up to 100MW of generation in far North Queensland as well as subsequent developments within the Lakeland project,” West said.
Rajneesh Vig, managing partner of Tennenbaum Capital Partners, said the acquisition offered a unique opportunity to work closely with one of the industry’s most experienced solar firms and to participate in the Asia Pacific market.
“The Asia Pacific is one of the most attractive solar markets in the world today,” Vig said.