Partners Group has expanded its Australian renewable energy portfolio with the acquisition of a 226MW wind farm from Renewable Energy Systems (RES) and Macquarie Capital.

The €67bn Swiss multi-asset manager has agreed on behalf of its clients to invest over AUD200m (€123m) in equity to buy and construct the first stage of Murra Warra Wind Farm (Murra Warra I).

Partners Group said it will lead the delivery of Murra Warra I, which will comprise 61 Senvion 3.7MW turbines with a total nameplate capacity of 226MW, located 30 kilometres north of Horsham in the state of Victoria.

RES will work alongside Partners Group to provide certain ongoing services to support the project.

Construction of Murra Warra I commenced in March and is expected to be completed in mid-2019.

The project has already entered into long-term power purchase agreements for a substantial portion of its generation output, the manager said.

Benjamin Haan, a partner and co-head of private infrastructure at Partners Group’s Asia-Pacific business, said: “We continue to believe the Australian renewable energy sector is benefiting from a transformative trend, with a significant amount of coal-fired generation retirements expected in the coming decade.

“Investing into a project such as Murra Warra I, where we can enter during the construction phase and successfully deliver the project through to its operation phase, is consistent with our ‘building core’ strategy in infrastructure and is Partners Group’s fourth major wind farm investment in Australia since 2015.”

The Murra Warra I investment follows Partners Group’s recent AUD700m commitment to develop Grassroots Renewable Energy Platform. Also in the Australian renewable energy sector, in June 2015, Partners Group invested into the development of the 240MW Ararat Wind Farm.

Andrew Kwok, a senior vice president and co-head of private infrastructure at Partners Group’s Asia-Pacific business, said: “Murra Warra I and Grassroots add to our substantial portfolio of renewable energy assets across the Asia-Pacific region.

“Since 2014, we have delivered over 900MW of renewable energy generation capacity in the region, with another 490MW currently under construction. In order to ensure such large-scale projects are completed on time and within budget, experience has taught us that it is important to focus on procuring construction items with long lead times in a timely manner, having the right in-house expertise to identify and manage risks and partnering with counterparties who bring the right capabilities and experience to deliver a project.”

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