FRV reaches financial close for 250 MW/500 MWh Aussie battery project

This will bring the company’s portfolio to 1.4 GW.

Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) Australia has reached financial close for the 250 megawatt (MW)/500 megawatt-hour (MWh) Gnarwarre Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project.

“With the addition of this new project, FRV Australia’s portfolio will reach a total installed capacity of approximately 1.4 GW once completed,” the company said in a statement.

The project is located in the state of Victoria and is financed under the portfolio financing facility closed by FRV Australia in July 2024. 

The project financing has been provided by a syndicate of five financial institutions, namely Westpac Banking Corporation, United Overseas Bank, and Intesa Sanpaolo, which are already part of the existing portfolio facility, and two new lenders to the portfolio, KfW IPEX-Bank and Export Development Canada. The Clean Energy Finance Corporation, a member of the original lending group, also offered support to the project from the start of the financing process, stepping aside once it had attracted sufficient financing.

The project has also received support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, which awarded a US$9.75m (AU$15m) grant under its Large-Scale Battery Storage Funding Round.

This is FRV Australia’s largest BESS project to date, following the Terang 100MW/200MWh BESS currently under construction.

AU$1 = US$0.65