Four law firms have helped in the first stage of a pioneering wind farm in South Australia.
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), White & Case, Finlaysons, and
Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) are all involved in stage one of the Lincoln Gap Wind Farm in the Port Augusta Region. The first stage of the project, which will have a 126MW capacity, is valued at $300m.
HSF advised Nexif Energy, a joint venture between Singapore based Nexif and private equity firm Denham Capital, which is the developer of the project.
The HSF team worked on the procurement, long-term asset management, grid connection, corporate, planning, land, and due diligence aspects of the project. It was led by partner and Asia-Pacific head of renewables Toby Anderson, who was supported by partners Miles Wadley and Nick Baker; executive counsel Alison Dodd; special counsel Michael Voros; senior associates Daniel Ficyk, Tyson Carruthers, and Rhiannon Hough; and solicitors Dinisi Sirimanne, Michael Thurin, Madeleine Miller, and Hannah Stevens.
Elite New York firm White & Case acted for Nexif Energy on the $190m project financing and offtake agreements for the 126MW first phase. The project is supported by offtake agreements with ERM Power and Snowy Hydro.
The White & Case team was led by partners Ged Cochrane and Joel Rennie, who were assisted by counsel Candice Ota and associates Alyse Mobrici and Toby Breheny.
Finlaysons acted for Nexif Energy on South Australian land aspects of the deal, including due diligence, native title, grid connection, licensing, and compliance. The firm’s team was led by property and infrastructure partner Gavin Cragg, who was assisted by partner Jeremy Schultz, special counsels Ryan Williams and Kyra Reznikov, consultant George McKenzie, associate Jane Welsh, and solicitor Alicia Jennison.
NRF acted for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, which committed $150m in debt finance. The firm’s team included partner Jo Crew, special counsel Joanna Taylor, senior associate Claire Whitney, and associates Celia Boyle and Emily John.
The CEFC said that the Lincoln Gap project will have the first unsubsidised large-scale grid-connected battery in Australia. Global banking and asset management company Investec has also committed $39m for the first phase’s funding.
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