BlackRock in one of Australia's biggest solar financing deals
BlackRock Real Assets will buy 90% of two solar projects in Queensland from developer Edify Energy. The 150 MW Daydream and the 50 MW Hayman solar farms will include 2 million solar panels with work beginning immediately and production slated for next year. RCR Tomlinson has won $315m of contracts to build the two projects, giving it over half a GW of large-scale solar projects on its order book and more than 1 GW in an earlier stage of development.
RCR Tomlinson has secured the $315 million contracts to build the Daydream and Hayman projects, adding to its rapidly growing line-up of solar construction contracts. Chief executive Paul Dalgliesh said RCR now has over half a gigawatt of large-scale solar projects on its order book and more than 1 GW in an earlier stage of development.

The CEFC is lending about $90 million to the two projects as part of a syndicated debt facility with CBA and French investment bank Natixis, BlackRock is providing equity towards the solar farms, one of which - Daydream - is underpinned by a 13-year power purchase deal with Origin Energy, while the second is being financed on a merchant basis.

The two projects will have the ability to incorporate storage down the track, supporting the flexibility and security of the power grid, according to Federal Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg.

For Edify, which will retain 10 per cent in the two plants, the deal extends its line-up of solar projects in Australia, where it is also pursuing storage ventures. Chief executive John Cole described the partnership with BlackRock as "a real coup" for Edify and said it is a major step towards bringing solar renewable power into the mainstream investment space in Australia.

While BlackRock has participated in more than 90 solar projects over the last few years, involving 1056 MW of capacity, the Queensland projects will be its first in Australia.

"The move into Australia represents a key part of the firm's long-term renewable power strategy, by which we continue to invest in attractive markets in order to provide a flow of addressable investment opportunities for our clients," global head Jim Barry said.

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BlackRock joins a host of other global investors such as Goldman Sachs that are backing renewables projects in Australia, although others such as Capital Dynamics see the risk around solar and wind projects still as too high because of the typically short duration of power sales contracts here.

The news comes as local battery producer Energy Renaissance confirmed it has selected Darwin for a planned large battery manufacturing plant in Australia, effectively giving the Northern Territory a mini "Gigafactory".

The Renaissance One factory will be the Southern Hemisphere's first lithium-ion battery plant, producing an annual capacity of 1 gigawatt-hours of systems to be sold into the Australian and south-east Asian markets. The first cells are set to come off the factory line by late 2018.

The selection of Darwin came after a two-year examination of potential sites around Australia, said Energy Renaissance, which is partly owned by CIMIC Group's UGL as well as the NT government and a US-based manufacturer. A final location has yet to be selected but it is likely to be at East Arm.

Tesla's Gigafactory being built in Nevada will eventually have a capacity to produce 150 GWh a year of batteries, while Boston Energy & Innovation, chaired by former Macquarie banker Bill Moss, is studying Townsville for a plant producing about 15 GWh a year.