Owner of Australia’s most powerful battery lands new bank finance to build more BESS projects

Australia’s wind energy developers may well be struggling to land finance for their projects, but it does not seem to be a problem for developers of big battery storage projects.

Akaysha Energy, which is currently delivering four major big battery projects in Australia, including the country’s and possible the world’s most powerful battery at Waratah in NSW, says it has closed a $300 million corporate debt facility with a syndicate of local and international banks.

Akaysha says the three-year multi-currency (AUD, EUR, USD) revolving loan and letter of credit facility will fund development and construction of its BESS project pipeline in Australia, the US, Japan and Germany.

It describes the deal as the first of its kind in the Australian renewable sector, because it allows the loan to be increased over time as the asset base grows. It says this follows a well established model used in the US renewables sector and oil and gas industry.

“This is a landmark facility for Akaysha and for the Australian renewables sector,” said Andrew Wegman, the chief financial and investment officer at Akaysha Energy.

“As the first borrowing base loan of its kind in the market, it provides the scale and flexibility to accelerate our development pipeline and capitalise on the extensive set of near-term opportunities that we see in Australian and global energy markets.”

“The strong support from our banking partners reflects confidence in both Akaysha’s strategy and the central role that large-scale batteries will play in ensuring a secure and sustainable energy transition.”

The banks involved include Westpac, along with BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, ING, and SMBC.

Akaysha has emerged from nowhere to become one of the biggest players in the Australian battery market, with the landmark Waratah Super Battery, the most powerful in the country at 850 MW and 1680 MWh, now finishing its commissioning process and already acting as a giant “shock absorber” to the grid.

It is also building the 415 MW, 1660 MWh Orana battery in the state’s central west, and is commissioning two smaller batteries in Queensland, the 150 MW, 300 MWh Ulinda Park in the western Downs region and the 205 MW, 410 MWh Brendale facility on the outskirts of Brisbane.

It also has a portfolio of battery projects in the pipeline in the US, Japan and germany, and now employs more than 210 people in Australia, Japan and the US. It was established in 2021 and is backed by global asset management giant Blackrock.

In Australia, it has a further 20 GWh of battery storage assets in development. Its project pipeline include the Elaine, Palmerston, Mobilong, Brinkworth, Wurdong, Halys and Glenrowan batteries.

More information:https://reneweconomy.com.au/owner-of-australias-most-powerful-battery-lands-new-bank-finance-to-build-more-bess-projects/