Wedoany.com Report-Dec 18,Cubico Sustainable Investments has achieved financial close for the 252MW Wambo Stage 1 and 254MW Wambo Stage 2 wind farms in Queensland, Australia.
The financial close secures two separate five-year project finance facilities totalling approximately A$650m (€393m), provided by a consortium of banks including ANZ, Credit Agricole, ING, NAB and Westpac.
ANZ is also providing bank guarantee facilities, with NAB acting as the agent, security trustee and account bank.
Located near Jandowae in Queensland’s Western Downs region, the Wambo wind farm is being developed in a 50:50 joint venture with Stanwell Corporation, which will also serve as the offtaker for Cubico’s 50% share of the energy generated.
Together, the two stages will provide over 500MW of renewable energy and will support Queensland’s target of sourcing 80% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2035.
Stage 1 of the Wambo Wind Farm is set to commence operations in 2025, followed by Stage 2 in 2026, which will introduce an additional 41 turbines, featuring some of the tallest turbines in Australia.
Wambo is Cubico’s first operational project in Australia.
Cubico manages an Australian portfolio featuring a 2.5GW pipeline of wind, solar and battery storage projects, along with over 3GW of early-stage greenfield developments.
David Smith, Cubico’s country head for Australia, said: “This is a significant milestone for the Wambo Wind Farm, demonstrating the continued progress of the project as we move towards first power.
“Once completed, Wambo will play an important role in enabling Queensland to meet its clean energy generation targets while delivering lasting benefits through job creation, economic growth, and our Community Benefit Funds, which have already supported important initiatives in the region.”
Matt Donaldson, Cubico’s Chief Financial Officer, added: “Securing two project financings simultaneously during construction is a major achievement and reflects the strength of Cubico’s relationships with our banking partners.
“We are grateful for the support of ANZ, Crédit Agricole, ING, NAB, and Westpac, which has been critical to the successful delivery of this important project.”
