Genex secures $107m in funding for major Australian solar assets

The interest rate of the new senior loan is 95% secured, on favorable terms until 2030, with a maturity date of June 27, 2029.

Genex said the financing terms were secured based on the “strong operating history” of the Jemalong Solar project in New South Wales and the Kidston Solar (KS1) project at the company’s Clean Energy Hub in Kidston, north Queensland.

Thanks to the new credit line, Genex will be able to fully repay the subordinated loan taken out with Infradebt and improve its capital structure.

The 50MW Jemalong Solar project is located near Forbes in central New South Wales and is the second generating solar asset in Genex’s renewable energy portfolio, having come online in 2020. It has a 30-year lifespan, had a development cost of A$90 million and the modules were supplied by Jinko.

The 50 MW Kidston Solar project, located in Far North Queensland, comprises 540,000 solar modules operating on a single-axis tracking system and, like Jemalong, has an expected operating life of 30 years. First commissioning occurred in November 2017 with First Solar supplying the solar modules.

Genex’s Kidston Clean Energy Hub is also where the developer is building Australia’s first new pumped-storage hydropower (PHES) in almost four decades, the 250MW/2000MWh Kidston 2 project. Construction of the PHES facility began in 2021, with a planned start-up date of 2024, while the hub also includes plans for a 285MW wind farm and a further solar PV facility.

Elsewhere in Queensland, Genex Power commissioned its first large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) – the 50MW/100MWh Bouldercombe project – in late 2023.

Genex CEO Craig Francis said the refinancing strengthens the company’s financial position and will help it continue its “commitment to sustainable energy development in Australia”.

“The continued support of our banking partners demonstrates the financiers’ confidence in Genex’s ability to develop, structure and manage high-quality assets,” Francis added.

ASX-listed Genex in April agreed to a 100% takeover by Japanese power producer J-Power, with which the Australian company has previously worked together on joint development projects, including financing the Kidston 2 PHES power plant. The proposed transaction could close this month, according to an April 12 announcement by J-Power.