France’s Neoen Wins Feed-In Tariff for Wind Project in Australia

(Bloomberg) -- Neoen SAS and Megawatt Capital Ltd. obtained a feed-in tariff for the third stage of the Hornsdale Wind Farm in Australia.

The next stage of the project near Jamestown in South Australia will install 109 megawatts capacity, raising total capacity to 309 megawatts once complete, the French renewables developer said in an e-mailed statement. The feed-in tariff from the Australian government will pay A$73 ($56) per megawatt-hour for 20 years.

The project is expected to cost A$290 million to build, with financial close seen in February. No banks have been mandated yet, according Neon Australia’s managing director Franck Woitiez, who expects 65 percent debt financing. The total cost of the three stages will be about A$800 million.

“Neoen has now established a strong presence in the ACT renewable energy precinct with capabilities in development, financing and operations,” Woitiez said. “Neoen has set a target for 2020 to achieve 1 gigawatt of competitive renewable energy assets in Australia.”

Construction has already begun on the two other stages of the Hornsdale wind farm, which also have feed-in tariffs from previous auctions.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anna Hirtenstein in London at ahirtenstein@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net, Jonathan Tirone