Herbert Smith Freehills has advised the sponsors, PowerChina and Goldwind, on the project financing of the Cattle Hill Wind Farm, located on the eastern shore of Lake Echo in central Tasmania. This is PowerChina’s inaugural investment in the Australian market.
The project will consist of 48 Goldwind turbines, producing up to 150 MW of renewable electricity. Construction of the project is underway and the wind farm will become fully operational in 2019.
The Herbert Smith Freehills deal team was led by partners Gerard Pike, Jon Evans, Toby Anderson and Alison Dodd, who were supported by senior associates David Ong and Caroline Rowe, and solicitors Dinisi Sirimanne and Beryl Yan. The project financing bank group consists of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited and Westpac Banking Corporation (each as Mandated Lead Arranger) with KPMG as the financial advisor.
Mr Evans said, “Goldwind and PowerChina can be proud to have signed the financing package for Cattle Hill Wind Farm.”
“We are excited to have continued our ongoing working relationship with Goldwind in Australia and to have helped PowerChina, which is a huge global player in the power industry, to make its entry into the Australian market.”
This deal is another example of Herbert Smith Freehills’ market-leading work advising on the financing arrangements of major renewables projects, including advising in relation to the Lal Lal Wind Farm, Bodangora Wind Farm, Coopers Gap Wind Farm, Willogoleche Wind Farm, the Kennedy Energy Park project, the White Rock Wind Farm and the Gullen Range Wind Farm.