Allens has advised on the development and financing of the East Rockingham Waste to Energy Facility (the East Rockingham WtE Facility), in Western Australia which has reached financial close.
Allens advised Acciona Concesiones S.L (ACCIONA) on its investment in the project which is part of the consortium of equity investors, including John Laing and Hitachi Zosen INOVA.
A separate team at Allens advised the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) on the project financing for the development of the East Rockingham WtE Facility. ARENA is providing an $18 million recoupable grant and CEFC is providing $57.5 million in subordinated debt as part of a multi-sourced funding package that also includes senior debt from domestic and international lenders.
The $511 million project is the second commercial scale waste-to-energy facility in Australia, following the Kwinana waste-to-energy facility, which reached financial close in 2018. Once completed, the East Rockingham WtE Facility will convert 300,000 tonnes per year of municipal, commercial and industrial waste as well as 30,000 tonnes of biosolids into enough electricity to supply more than 36,000 homes.
'We were delighted to advise CEFC and ARENA on the funding of this groundbreaking project. Effective waste management is a critical part of Australia's transition to a lower emissions future, and this demonstrates waste-to-energy as a viable solution,' said Partner Rob Watt, who led the team advising ARENA and CEFC.
'This transaction is a further step forward for this emerging asset class, which has a role to play in the overall solution to the country's waste crisis. Credit to the many stakeholders involved in this project, for bringing together a world-class solution for the East Rockingham area,' said Partner David Donnelly, who led the team advising ACCIONA on the transaction.
The project will be delivered over a 35-month contract period, commencing in January 2020.
