Wirsol, Renew Estate team up on 1 GW

“We have delivered over 1 GW of innovative solar projects in Europe and are now committed to developing a portfolio across Australia,” said Mark Hogan, managing director of Wirsol Energy.

“The pipeline will include storage-ready projects, ready for the next-generation of renewables development in Australia,” the companies said in an online statement. They are now looking for new opportunities to develop projects throughout the “Australia-Pacific region,” including Fiji and New Zealand.

The two companies will operate out of Sydney, as Wirsol Energy opened new offices in the coastal suburb of Manly earlier this year. Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright and Canberra-based consulting firm Beast Solutions are advising Renew Estate on the Wirsol Energy venture.

Simon Currie, global head of energy at Norton Rose Fulbright, praised the partnership and pointed to opportunities to deploy renewables at locations such as Port Augusta in South Australia, the Latrobe Valley in Victoria and the Hunter Valley region in New South Wales. “This is an innovative partnership which will deliver future-ready projects incorporating storage and enhancing the reliability of the system,” Currie said.

In January, German renewables development group Wircon — the parent of Wirsol Energy — completed a 30 MW solar plant in the Netherlands. In March, Wirsol Energy acquired 198 MW of solar capacity across three sites in Australia. The projects — which include 138 MW in Queensland — will be completed by the first quarter of 2018, in cooperation with Sydney-based developer Edify Energy. Wirsol Energy also sold a 105 MW portfolio of PV projects in the UK in June to a unit of Rockfire Capital.