Genex Power (ASX: GNX) has signed a 10-year power purchase agreement with major electricity generation and retail firm EnergyAustralia for the supply of 258MW clean energy from Kidston Stage 3 Wind Project (K3W) in far-north Queensland.
K3W is being developed by Genex in a 50:50 partnership with Electric Power Development (J- POWER).
A wholly owned subsidiary of Genex, K3W Project as trustee for K3W Project Trust, has entered into this agreement with EnergyAustralia, which has more than 1.6 million customers nationwide.
This is the second offtake agreement that Genex has signed with EnergyAustralia, following the execution of the Energy Storage Services Agreement for the 250MW Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro project in March 2020.
The agreement secures the offtake of 30% of the Project’s output of wind energy and large-scale generation certificates at a fixed price, over a 10-year term from commencement of operations.
In addition to the agreement with EnergyAustralia, Genex remains in discussions with other counterparties for the balance of the capacity of K3W to underpin the financing structure for the Project.
Genex CEO, Craig Francis, said this agreement underscores EnergyAustralia’s strong and growing partnership with Genex and its commitment to the Kidston Clean Energy Hub.
“The execution of this power purchase agreement with EnergyAustralia represents a significant milestone for the development of the 258MW Kidston Stage 3 Wind Project, the third stage of the Kidston Clean Energy Hub. Securing 30% of the offtake capacity of the Project with such a high- quality partner in EnergyAustralia, signifies a material step in mitigating project risk.
“We are pleased that our partnership with EnergyAustralia has continued to strengthen with the addition of this offtake agreement, building on the foundations established in 2020 with our 30- year agreement for the Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project. This latest commitment by EnergyAustralia also attests to the strong track record of project delivery demonstrated by the Genex team.
“We look forward to building on this milestone alongside our partner J-POWER as we continue to de-risk the project and progress it toward financial close in 2024.”
EnergyAustralia Managing Director, Mark Collette, said the Kidston Wind offtake agreement takes the company a step closer to its goal of up to 3GW of renewable energy committed or in operations by 2030.
“Both Kidston Wind and the Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project are important steps in delivering EnergyAustralia’s purpose to lead and accelerate the clean energy transformation for all,” he said.