Months after an $800 million-plus deal to sell local renewable energy assets to a Chinese company crumbled, Lightsource bp is in exclusive discussions with a Macquarie-backed developer to finally offload its extensive portfolio.
Lightsource bp is part of the British oil giant, and had been working to sell a 1037-megawatt portfolio of solar farms to Hong Kong-listed Beijing Energy International Holding. That deal, which had an equity value of $813 million, was struck in December 2023, but got stuck in a Foreign Investment Review Board quagmire.
Now, Lightsource bp is closing in on an agreement with Aula Energy, a renewable energy development business backed by Macquarie Asset Management, which is planning for a portfolio of around 4 gigawatts. It is already developing the massive Boulder Creek Wind Farm near Rockhampton in Queensland and the Carmody’s Hill Wind Farm north of Adelaide in South Australia.
Macquarie Capital is advising Lightsource bp, while EY is advising Aula. The latter is busy canvassing lender interest in financing the acquisition via a stapled portfolio facility.
The mooted deal comes as a flurry of sizeable transactions, largely driven by foreign investors lured by the Albanese government’s ambitious renewables targets and funding initiatives, have struggled to obtain FIRB approvals and ground to a halt.
If Beijing Energy had been successful, the transaction would have made it the largest owner of utility-scale solar projects in Australia. Now, it’s expected to give Aula a highly diversified portfolio of technologies and generation assets.
The deal also helps Lightsource bp divest a portfolio that has sat on the auction block for some time as interested parties grow concerned about the increasing risk that power generated by solar farms will be curtailed before it hits the grid.
Aula’s success in securing exclusivity will be closely watched by international investors. Chinese, French and Spanish companies have emerged as the biggest backers of local renewable energy projects, driving much of the development needed to meet ambitious fossil fuel reduction targets.
Core to those is the Albanese government’s 82 per cent renewables target by 2030, which underpins Australia’s international commitment to cut carbon emissions by 43 per cent by then from 2005 levels. The 2030 renewables target is at risk of being missed, given that the amount of newly installed clean energy capacity lags well behind the required growth.
Extracted in full from: https://www.afr.com/street-talk/lightsource-bp-finds-new-buyer-for-800m-renewables-portfolio-20250901-p5mrg1
