Potentia Energy buys major Australian renewable energy assets

Potentia Energy Acquires Major Renewable Assets in Australia

By Scott Murdoch

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Potentia Energy, a joint venture between Italy's Enel Green Power and Japan's INPEX Corp, said Thursday it would buy controlling stakes in 1 gigawatts' worth of renewable energy projects in Australia from private equity and superannuation fund investors.

Potentia said the purchase included 700 megawatts of wind and solar assets, and 430 megawatts of late-stage development projects consisting of the South Australian and Queensland Battery Energy Storage system.

A West Australian wind farm is also part of that portfolio, the company said. Potentia has operated in Australia for eight years, it added.

The assets had been owned by private equity group CVC's infrastructure arm, CVC DIF, and Australian pension fund Cbus Super.

Cbus has nearly A$100 billion in funds under management, according to its website.

The sale is worth about $A1 billion, according to local media reports. It requires Foreign Investment Review Board approval.

Potentia has 309 megawatts of solar capacity in the Australian states of South Australia and Victoria, and a 75 megawatt wind farm in Western Australia, the company said.

It said it was also building a 98 megawatt solar and 20 megawatt battery hybrid project in New South Wales, and has commissioned a 93 megawatt solar farm in Victoria.

(Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney. Editing by Gerry Doyle)