Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Brookfield on its entry into an agreement with Greenleaf Renewables for the development and acquisition of the Moonlight Range Wind Farm in central Queensland.
Under the agreement, Brookfield will develop, build and take ownership of the wind farm, the first renewable power project for the company in Australia. Currently in the development phase, it’s expected that construction on the project will commence in 2025.
The Herbert Smith Freehills team advised Brookfield on its legal due diligence of the project – conducted across the corporate, real estate and environment & planning teams – through to negotiation and execution of transaction documents.
The Herbert Smith Freehills team comprised of partner and Head of Energy, Australia, Nick Baker, senior associate Madeleine Miller, and solicitor Yonnie Lipshatz. This core energy team was supported by teams of specialists including partner Elizabeth Charlesworth and solicitor Nicholas Gerovasilis who advised on finance matters, partner Julie Jankowski and senior associate Matt Wertheimer who advised on real estate and partner Kathryn Pacey, senior associate Michael Bidwell solicitor Allira Jeffrey who advised on environmental matters.
Herbert Smith Freehills partner Nick Baker said, “We have greatly enjoyed working with the team at Brookfield, to see them reach this milestone in a project that will see traditional energy sources replaced with new sources of clean energy.”
“This project is not occurring in isolation, but it’s a reflection of how Australia is transitioning its energy sources to renewables. Partnerships such as that between Brookfield and Greenleaf are the sort of collaborative approaches that are set to bridge the shortfall in Australia’s energy supply, as we see coal generated energy lessen in our grids.”
This deal is another example of Herbert Smith Freehills’ market-leading work in the clean energy sector. Other recent examples include our firm advising:
- CIMIC Group company Pacific Partnerships on the project financing of the 102 MWac/130MWdc Glenrowan Solar Farm in northern Victoria. Glenrowan Solar Farm is the first of the six successful projects chosen under the Second Victorian Renewable Energy Target Auction (VRET2) to achieve financial close.
- QIC Private Capital on its conditional agreement with Vector (NZX: VCT) to buy 50% of Vector’s New Zealand and Australian smart metering business.
- Macquarie Asset Management’s Green Investment Group and investment manager InfraRed Capital Partners on the sale of a 60% equity interest in Victoria’s Lal Lal Wind Farms to Igneo Infrastructure Partners.
- bp on its investment in the proposed Asian Renewable Energy Hub. Planning to acquire a 40.5 percent share, bp will also operate the project based in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.
- Pacific Partnerships, a member of the CIMIC Group, on the acquisition of the 125MW Glenrowan Solar Farm development in Victoria from Esco Pacific.
