By Nick Hedley
A Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary, CalEnergy Resources, has
acquired two solar farms in New South Wales, Australia, from Nasdaq-listed Canadian
Solar. The groups have also agreed to codevelop additional clean energy
projects in the country.
The transaction marks CalEnergy’s entry into Australia’s renewable
energy market.
A wholly owned subsidiary of Northern Powergrid, which is in
turn owned by Warren Buffet-led Berkshire Hathaway, CalEnergy is primarily
focused on upstream oil and gas projects in Australia, Poland and the U.K. Until
now, its only asset in Australia was an exploration permit for the undeveloped
Whicher Range gas field off the nation’s west coast.
Canadian Solar said in a statement it had sold two “flagship”
solar farms, Suntop and Gunnedah, to CalEnergy for an undisclosed sum. The
facilities, which supply Amazon and other corporates, have a maximum potential
output of 345 megawatts (MW).
Canadian Solar and CalEnergy have also entered into a
multi-year development services agreement to jointly develop Canadian Solar’s
renewable energy pipeline in Australia.
“We are delighted to work with CalEnergy in Australia
to grow their renewable energy portfolio,” Dr. Shawn Qu, chairman and CEO of
Canadian Solar, said in a statement.
“The sale of these projects in New South Wales paves the way
for a strong collaboration between our respective companies. In Australia, we
have now brought seven development projects to NTP (notice-to-proceed) and
beyond and continue to develop and grow our multi-gigawatt solar and storage
pipeline.”