A wind farm in New South Wales, Australia, will borrow A$120mn (around US$90mn) from the state-owned Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).

The 270MW Sapphire wind project has also secured debt finance from Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Eksport Kredit Fonden (EKF – Denmark’s export credit agency) as it moves towards completing its funding requirements of A$588mn. There is also an equity funding stake injected by Partners Group.

The farm has locked in a 20-year power-purchase agreement for 100MW of electricity with the Australia Capital Territory (ACT) as part of the administration’s wind reverse auction. This, says CEFC, demonstrates the financial feasibility and bankability of Australia’s renewables sector.

The farm will be the largest in New South Wales and generate enough electricity to power 110,000 homes, on average. The funding is a welcome boost for the clean energy sector Down Under, which has been hit by unfavourable policy moves by successive Liberal governments.

Demonstrating the uncertainty, Carnegie Wave Energy is reportedly planning to build its first wave plant in the UK, having grown frustrated by the volatile policy towards renewables in Australia. This is despite having previously been a recipient of funding from CEFC.