The agreement with EnergyAustralia covers 30% of the 258MW Kidston Stage 3 wind project’s (K3W) generation capacity for a period of 10 years at a fixed price, and will strengthen the partnership between the two companies
Genex signs 10-year PPA for Kidston wind project. (Credit: Thomas Reaubourg on Unsplash)
Genex Power, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, has signed a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with EnergyAustralia for the 258MW Kidston Stage 3 wind project (K3W) in Queensland, Australia.
K3W Project Company, a subsidiary of Genex and trustee for the K3W Project Trust, has signed the agreement with EnergyAustralia, and has been approved by the Genex board.
It is Genex’s second such agreement with EnergyAustralia, following the Energy Storage Services agreement for the 250MW Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro project in 2020.
The agreement facilitates the offtake of 30% of the project’s wind energy output at a fixed price, for a period of more than 10 years from the start of operations.
It also contains certain conditions customary for an agreement of this kind, including the closing of financing for K3W before 31 December 2024.
Genex CEO Craig Francis said: “The execution of this power purchase agreement with EnergyAustralia represents a significant milestone for the development of the 258MW Kidston Stage 3 Wind Project, the third stage of the Kidston Clean Energy Hub.
“Securing 30% of the offtake capacity of the Project with such a high-quality partner in EnergyAustralia, signifies a material step in mitigating project risk.
“We are pleased that our partnership with EnergyAustralia has continued to strengthen with the addition of this offtake agreement, building on the foundations established in 2020 with our 30-year agreement for the Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project.”
The Australian electricity generation company is developing K3W in a 50:50 partnership with Electric Power Development (J- POWER).
Genex and J-POWER are advancing the early stage of works related to the K3W project, including modelling the wind resource at several sites at the Kidston Clean Energy Hub.
They intend to advance the project development through monitoring, planning and other feasibility workstreams in the coming 12-18 months.
The offtake agreement would strengthen EnergyAustralia’s partnership with Genex and its commitment to the Kidston Clean Energy Hub.
In addition to the agreement, Genex and EnergyAustralia will continue discussions with other counterparties for the remaining capacity of K3W, to support the financing for the project.
The project is planned to be connected to the new 275kV transmission line, currently being constructed by Powerlink Queensland for the K2-Hydro, planned to be completed in 2024.
EnergyAustralia managing director Mark Collette said: “We are pleased to expand our successful partnership with Genex by supporting the Kidston Stage 3 Wind Project. The Genex team have done a great job developing this project.
“The Kidston Wind offtake agreement will bring us a step closer to our goal of up to 3GW of renewable energy committed or in operations by 2030.
“Both Kidston Wind and the Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project are important steps in delivering EnergyAustralia’s purpose to lead and accelerate the clean energy transformation for all.”
Earlier this month, Genex signed a long-term solar power purchase agreement with Fortescue Metals for the Bulli Creek solar and battery project (BCP) in Queensland, Australia.