Allens has advised a syndicate of lenders on the project financing of the Baranduda Electrical Energy Reserve project, a large-scale battery being developed by Birdwood near Wodonga, Victoria.
The project is backed by Aware Super, an institutional investor in Birdwood, a renewable investment manager, and the State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SEC). The SEC has also secured 50 per cent of the project's output through a 15-year power purchase agreement, underpinning the long-term revenue profile of the project alongside its equity participation. Apex Capital Advisors were financial adviser to Birdwood.
With a storage duration of 4.65 hours, Baranduda will be Victoria's longest-duration battery storage project, marking a broader shift away from short-duration (one-to-two hour) batteries traditionally deployed for frequency control ancillary services,
Once operational, the Baranduda project will have a capacity of 400 MW / 1.86 GWh, enough to power up to 200,000 households depending on peak regional demand. With a total project value of around A$700 million, the Baranduda project is a significant investment in the infrastructure needed to support Australia's energy transition.
Backed by Australian superannuation capital and managed by specialist investors such as Birdwood, the Baranduda financing is a further example of the surge in institutional investment targeting large-scale, flexible energy infrastructure, as superannuation funds and specialist managers increasingly favour these assets over more traditional infrastructure investments.
Partner Scott McCoy said: ‘The Baranduda project shows the increasing role large-scale battery storage will play in Australia’s energy system. Projects of this scale need sophisticated financing and bring together lenders, developers and institutional investors to support the infrastructure required for the energy transition.’
This work adds to Allens' extensive track record in advising on BESS projects and complex energy transition financings, having recently advised: Akaysha Energy on the Elaine BESS; the lenders on the Supernode Stages 1 and 2 and Stage 3 BESS projects; the lenders on the Gnarwarre BESS project; and ACEnergy on the sale of the Yanco BESS.
Allens legal team
Finance, Banking & Debt Capital
Scott McCoy (Partner), Mark Hakeem (Senior Associate), Amy Colebourn (Associate), Jim Chan (Associate), Tom Woods (Lawyer) and Kyla Rivera (Lawyer)