Meridian buys Australian windfarm for A$191 million

Tuesday 11th May 2010

Meridian Energy has extended its ambitions in Australia by purchasing a fully developed 35 turbine, 70 Megawatt windfarm at Mt Millar in South Australia.

The A$191 million purchase from ASX-listed Transfield Services Infrastructure Fund is in addition to a proposed 183 turbine joint venture with AGL for the Macarthur wind farm in south-west Victoria, which is likely to be the southern hemisphere’s largest wind farm.

“Mt Millar is a great income producing asset,” said Meridian chief executive Tim Lusk.

“With 70MW and a power purchase agreement that runs through to the end of 2012, Mt Millar is fully operational and will become an important part of our wind portfolio, particularly when the power purchase agreements expire and we can take advantage of stronger market prices.”

Lusk said the purchase is part of Meridian’s strategic decision to grow its investments in Australian renewable energy assets, leveraging off its experience in developing and operating windfarms such as Te Apiti near Palmerston North, White Hill in Southland and West Wind farm in Wellington.

Meridian has over 1,000MW of New Zealand development opportunities in the resource consent pipeline, and its other overseas interests include the purchase of San Francisco-based Cleantech America for US$5.4 million in August 2009, and the construction of a five-megawatt photovoltaic solar facility in Mendota which began last September.

Businesswire.co.nz

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