Mugga Lane Solar Park, one of Australia’s first large-scale solar farms, has gone into voluntary administration. Scott Langdon and David Osborne from advisory and investment firm KordaMentha have been appointed as the voluntary administrators, and they have immediately put the site up for sale.
Located in the ACT on a 52-hectare site, and owned by Chinese-Australian company Maoneng, the 13.3MW (ac) solar farm opened in 2017 and generates 24,500MWh per year, enough for around 3000 houses.
In a vague statement that doesn’t shed a lot of light on what problems the facility is enduring, a statement issued by KordaMentha says “the appointment of voluntary administrators was necessary due to recent external effects on the financial arrangements of Mugga Lane Solar Park”.
It is believed Maoneng had been trying to refinance the facility.
According to KordaMentha, the solar park will continue its operations as normal during the voluntary administration process until a new buyer can be found.
It is understood potential buyers are already circling, with the facility having lucrative long-term agreements with the ACT Government in place.
“Mugga Lane Solar Park will continue to operate on a business-as-usual basis throughout the administration, and there will be no disruption to operations or any stakeholders,” says Langdon.
“The voluntary administrators will work collaboratively with the director to run an international sale process and maximise competitive tension and the financial outcomes for all stakeholders and creditors.
“A sale process for the project will commence immediately. We expect a high level of international interest in the Mugga Lane Solar Park due to the unique nature of the asset.”
In a statement, Maoneng says Mugga Lane Solar Park going into administration won’t impact other aspects of the company, which has recently announced large-scale solar and battery storage projects, including a 400MW battery and 550MW solar farm in the NSW Hunter region, and a 225MW battery in South Australia.
“Mugga Lane Solar Park is a group subsidiary asset operating under a special purpose vehicle structure [separate subsidiary created by a parent company to isolate financial risk],” says a Maoneng spokesperson.
“The appointment of KordaMentha, the voluntary administrators, only relates to Mugga Lane Solar Park, and does not affect other group operations or any related entities.”