Genex Power has announced that its subsidiary, K3W Project Co, has entered into a ten-year power purchase agreement with EnergyAustralia for the 258MW Kidston Stage 3 Wind Project (K3W).
K3W is being developed by Genex in a 50:50 partnership with Electric Power Development (J-POWER).
The agreement represents the second offtake that Genex has signed with EnergyAustralia, following the execution of the Energy Storage Services Agreement for the 250MW Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro project in 2020.
Genex said that the signing of the agreement underscores EnergyAustralia’s strong and growing partnership with Genex and its commitment to the Kidston Clean Energy Hub.
The agreement secures the offtake of 30 per cent of the project’s output of wind energy and large-scale generation certificates at a fixed price, over a ten year term from commencement of operations.
The fixed price is subject to annual escalation in accordance with movements in the consumer price index. The agreement contains typical conditions precedent for an agreement of this nature, including financial close of K3W by 31 December 2024.
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 that the execution of this power purchase agreement with EnergyAustralia represents a significant milestone for the development of the K3W project, the third stage of the Kidston Clean Energy Hub.
“Securing 30 per cent of the offtake capacity of the project with such a high-quality partner in EnergyAustralia, signifies a material step in mitigating project risk,” Mr Francis said.
“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 that EnergyAustralia is pleased to expand its successful partnership with Genex by supporting the Kidston Stage 3 Wind Project.
“The Genex team have done a great job developing this project,” Mr Collette said.
“The Kidston Wind offtake agreement will bring us a step closer to our 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.”