Denham to invest $75m towards 1GW wind energy projects in Australia

Denham Capital, a global private equity firm, has invested $75m of equity in wind energy projects totalling 1GW being developed in Australia.

Through this investment, the company has joined the consortium of investors that include Enersis Australia, National Power and Kato Capital forming an entity named OneWind Australia.

The projects being developed under the venture are 100MW Glen Innes in New South Wales, 200MW Lincoln Gap project in South Australia, and 240MW Cattle Hill development in Tasmania.

The consortium is expecting the closure of several phases of the project development in the latter half of 2013 or in 2014.

Denham Capital managing partner and co-president Scott Mackin said that the company is pleased to form an alliance entity OneWind Australia with Enersis Australia, National Power and Kato Capital.

He further added that the company would strive to work towards accelerating the near term pipeline of projects.

The consortium partners of the company have an extensive expertise in wind energy sector evident from their respective project portfolio.

Enersis Australia’s has developed and built around 1,000MW of wind power projects in Europe through its shareholder, while National Power has developed more than 700MW in Australia and Kato Capital’s principals have developed nearly 750MW of wind power projects.

"We believe that the combined skills, capital and projects that we collectively bring to the table create exciting opportunities for the partnership."

"This investment also further underscores Denham’s commitment to Australia, where we opened a new office in Perth in November in response to the metals and minerals opportunities in the region, and where another Denham portfolio company, international solar developer Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, has significant activities and a team on the ground," elaborated Mackin.

Meanwhile, Denham may partner with Infraventus Group, major investor of Enersis Australia, to explore on-shore wind energy industry in markets including Europe, Africa, and Latin America.