- Squadron Energy acquires CWP Renewables to become Australia’s largest renewable energy investor, operator and developer.
According to the company’s website news release on December 7, 2022, Squadron Energy (Squadron) announced it has acquired CWP Renewables (CWP), in an agreement that takes Squadron’s renewable energy operating portfolio to 2.4 gigawatts (GW) with an Australian development pipeline to 20GW.
Squadron, part of the Tattarang group of companies, is 100 per cent Australian owned and operated, and dedicated to accelerating Australia’s decarbonisation. Once fully operational, Squadron’s portfolio will provide enough electricity to power 8.5 million homes, more than double the number of homes in New South Wales.
CWP will be integrated into Squadron’s existing business, which includes majority ownership of Windlab, and provide Squadron with the scale it requires on the east coast of Australia to meet the huge demand from large commercial and industrial customers for reliable green energy.
Chairman of Tattarang, Dr Andrew Forrest AO, said Squadron is now superbly positioned to ensure Australia can accelerate the development of renewable energy, creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs, at the scale and pace that our economy requires.
“Squadron is proud to bring a very significant portion of Australia’s renewable energy assets home to local ownership. It means that Squadron has the renewable energy critical mass to help Australia step beyond fossil fuels,” said Dr Forrest.
“Australian industries’ ability to consign fossil fuel to history, is robustly demonstrated by the strong track record and commitment of Fortescue Metals, Fortescue Future Industries and other world-leading companies committed to decarbonising. We share a vision of Australia and the world, looking back on the dark era of fossil fuel as an aberration in humanity’s history. One that could have ended with that fuel, but is now powered by cheap, pollution-free, democratic, inexhaustible energy.
“It is paramount that Australia continues to increase cost-efficient renewable green energy, to economically power homes and industry at pace and rid the Australian consumer of its forced reliance to increasingly expensive, dangerously pollutive fossil fuels.
“We are realising significant value by combining CWP’s wind, solar and battery farm portfolio with Squadron’s existing renewable power and firming assets. Their combined leadership and management teams strongly complement each other.
“We are committed to ensuring that Australians benefit from the rising employment opportunities, and massive investment in the renewable energy sector. The new jobs, manufacturing and training opportunities, particularly in regional areas, are so important to making sure generations of Australians benefit across the nation.”
Squadron Energy CEO, Eva Hanly, said the company has the experience, people, agility and scale to meet the huge demand for green energy from large commercial and industrial customers.
“When large industrial and commercial customers come to us, they are looking for efficient and firmed renewable power at scale. With this acquisition, we will develop and operate an extensive geographic portfolio of night and daytime wind, solar and storage assets that will ensure reliability of supply for our customers,” said Ms Hanly.
“The sooner we can get renewable energy at scale into the grid, the more quickly prices will come down for consumers. We are very focused on using our scale and smarts to ensure we are the leader, by a significant margin, in delivering the lowest produced cost of firm renewable energy to market.
“We are currently building the $3 billion Clarke Creek renewable energy hub in central Queensland, which is the largest grid connected project in the country, and will be commencing construction of another 2GW worth of projects within the next 18 months. We have a team of passionate and dedicated people who are working towards a common goal of wanting to stop Australia’s carbon emissions. We are looking forward to working with the incredible talent that is in CWP to do more game-changing projects.”
CWP is a vertically integrated renewables energy business that spans wind, solar and battery farms, and provides renewable energy to Transurban, Woolworths Group, Sydney Airport, Commonwealth Bank and Snowy Hydro.
It currently operates over 1.1GW of wind assets including Sapphire Wind Farm, the largest in NSW, which has 75 turbines generating up to 270 megawatts (MW); Murra Warra I & II with a combined 435MW; and Crudine Ridge, which has 37 wind turbines and generates 142MW.
It has approvals in place to construct four more wind farms in NSW totalling over 750MW, along with a construction-ready 414MW wind farm, 180MW solar farm, two battery farms and a firming power station capable of using hydrogen, biofuels and hydrogen gas blends.
The acquisition will unlock an unparalleled development pipeline in NSW and Victoria to ensure reliability of supply across the east coast and transform the market from generator-led to customer-led.
Squadron was advised by Highbury Partnership as its financial advisor and Clayton Utz as its legal advisor.
