Mills Oakley advised power producer RATCH-Australia on the Mt Emerald wind farm in Queensland.
Valued at $400 million, this project is the largest wind farm ever developed in Queensland and the largest project financed wind farm transaction in Australia in 2016.
The Mills Oakley team was led by partner Luke Westmore and included Daniel Livingston (partner), David Marschke (partner), Danny O'Brien (special counsel), Damiano Castelli (special counsel), Alex Chernishev (senior associate), Tamin Rahman (associate) Mary-Anne El-Hage (associate) and Jordan Lyon (lawyer).
This project represents a new era for wind power in Queensland, which previously only had a minor wind energy capacity from small-scale farms generating 12MW of energy.
By contrast, the Mt Emerald project’s 53 Vestas turbines will have capacity to generate 180MW. Mt Emerald will be the first utility-scale wind farm to be built in Queensland for over 15 years.
Mills Oakley advised RATCH on all aspects of the project including construction, O&M, financing, tax, planning and property. MO previously advised RATCH on the extension of its equity in the Mt Emerald project to 100% in July 2016.
Lead partner Luke Westmore observed that this project would assist Queensland to meet its ambitious renewable energy targets.
“The Queensland government has committed to generating 50% of its electricity needs from renewable energy by 2030,” Westmore said.
“As Queensland’s first large scale wind farm, the Mt Emerald project represents a major step forward in this journey. We are privileged to have advised RATCH on such a ground-breaking project, which continues MO’s active involvement in the renewable energy sector in Queensland.”
Mills Oakley most recently advised on Queensland's largest solar project, the Barcaldine Solar Farm.
The lenders on this project (ANZ, NAB, Societe Generale and MUFG) were advised by a team from
Herbert Smith Freehills, led by partner Gerard Pike.
