Baker & McKenzie acted for Neoen, a leading French renewable energy company, on the acquisition and debt financing of the DeGrussa Solar Farm – a 10.6 MW solar PV project that will be integrated into the existing diesel generator facility to power the DeGrussa Copper Mine in remote Western Australia. This is Australia’s largest solar and battery storage project to date.
Baker & McKenzie lead partner, Paul Curnow commented: "This is a real boost of confidence for the renewable energy sector and at $40 million, is one of the world’s largest solar storage projects providing peak power load to a remote copper mining operation in Western Australia."
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation has committed up to $15 million in debt finance towards the project, with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) providing $20.9 million in Australian Government funding support.
Solar will provide the majority of Sandfire’s copper mine daytime electricity requirements, offsetting approximately 5 million litres of diesel per annum, which is more than 20 per cent of Sandire's total diesel consumption.
The Baker & McKenzie team was led by partner, Paul Curnow and assisted by partners Sean Rush and Kate Jefferson, and associates David Cooper, Robert Gough, Katherine Frederick, Harry Marples and James Tyson.
