Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On June 4, 2013, financial close was reached on a deal in which a syndicate of five banks — Bank of China (BOC), Bank of Communications (BoComm), China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) Limited (ICBC (Asia)), and National Australia Bank Limited (NAB) — entered into $245.52 million AUD ($236.94 million USD) syndicated loan agreement with Gullen Range Wind Farm Pty Ltd (GRWF) — a special purpose vehicle (SPV) indirectly wholly owned by Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd. — for the 165.5 MW Gullen Range Wind Farm Project. This term loan carried a maturity period of five years and a final maturity date of June 21, 2018. This loan was secured by (i.e. collateralized against) a pledge of Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology's 100% indirect equity interest in GRWF. BOC, BoComm, and CCB each contributed $45.13 million AUD ($43.55 million USD), while ICBC (Asia) and NAB each contributed $55.06 million AUD ($53.14 million USD). NAB served as mandated debt arranger and bookrunner. Record ID#94865 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#94866 captures BoComm's contribution. Record ID#94867 captures CCB's contribution. Record ID#94868 captures ICBC Asia's contribution. The proceeds of this loan were used to finance the construction, development, and operation of the Gullen Range Wind Farm, a 73-turbine wind farm with a 165.5 MW capacity, measuring 22 kilometers north to south, located approximately in the locality of Bannister in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, approximately 11 kilometers of Crookwell and 32 kilometers northwest of Goulburn 20 kilometers West of Goulburn. The wind farm was capable of generating enough energy to power 70,000 average homes on an average daily. The project also included upgrades to local council roads to facilitate delivery of equipment to the project site. The 73 turbines consisted of 56 GRW100-2.5MW turbines, which have 100-meter diameters and 130-meter tip heights, and 17 GW82-1.5MW, which have 82-meter diameters and 126-meter tip heights. The wind turbines produce electricity at 600V, which was stepped up to 33kV by a transformer at the base of each turbine, then transmitted via underground cables to the switchroom near Bannister, where they were are stepped up to 330kV then transmitted to the national electricity grid. The turbines are linked by about 45 kilometers of access tracks. Goldwind Australia Pty Ltd (GWA) was the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) and operations and maintenance (O&M) contractor responsible for project implementation. Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd. manufactured the turbines for the project. Catcon and CPP were contracted to construct the civil and electrical works at the warm. Deugro was contracted to manage the delivery of wind turbine components to the site. Marshall Day Acoustics was contracted for the noise commissioning campaign. Civil & Allied Technical Construction (CATCON) and Consolidated Power Projects (CPP) were awarded the Balance of Plant (BoP) subcontract, while CATCON also served as a principal contractor to the project. TransGrid was responsible for the design and construction of the grid connection works. Epuron Pty Ltd was the original project developer, having received development approval in 2010. It then sold the project to Goldwind Capital (Australia). BJCE Australia now owns the wind farm through its subsidiary, New Gullen Range Wind Farm Pty. Ltd. (NGRWF).. A July 2012 connection agreement allowed the wind farm to be connected to TransGrid's 330kV transmission system. Energy Australia entered into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the wind farm for the off-take of its energy. Construction began in October 2012. All turbines were commissioned and exporting electricity on December 23, 2014, marking the wind farm's full operations date. In July 2014, Goldwind announced that it would sell a 75% stake in the wind farm to Beijing Jingneng Clean Energy Co Ltd. (BJCE) which GRWF would transfer the wind scheme assets to New Gullen Range Wind Farm Pty Ltd (New GRWF) in exchange for $319.5 million AUD ($299.4 million USD/€219.6 million EUR). Then, on July 10, 2014, financial close was reached on a deal in which the five-bank syndicate — BOC, BoComm, CCB, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), and NAB — entered into a $247.50 million AUD ($232.42 million USD) syndicated loan agreement with New Gullen Range Wind Farm Pty Ltd (New GRWF) — a special purpose vehicle (SPV) owned by Goldwind Capital (Australia) Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd., (25% equity stake) and Beijing Jingneng Clean Energy (Hong Kong) Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of Beijing Jingneng Clean Energy Co Ltd., (BJCE) (75% equity stake) — for the 165.5 MW Gullen Range Wind Farm 2014 Refinancing Project. This term loan carried a maturity period of five years and a final maturity date of July 10, 2019. The proceeds of this loan were to refinance existing debt facilities for the Gullen Range Wind Farm on the occasion of BJCE's purchase of a 75% stake in the wind farm; specifically, NGRWF repaid the loan to GRWF. BOC, BoComm, and CCB each contributed $45.49 million AUD ($42.72 million USD), while ICBC and NAB each contributed $55.50 million AUD ($52.12 million AUD). Record ID#94869 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#94870 captures BoComm's contribution. Record ID#94871 captures CCB's contribution. Record ID#94872 captures ICBC's contribution. Then, on September 15, 2020, financial close was reached on a deal in which a four-bank syndicate of BOC, BoComm, ICBC, and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) entered into a $188.33 million AUD ($137.90 million USD) term loan agreement with New Gullen Range Wind Farm Pty Ltd (New GRWF) — a special purpose vehicle (SPV) owned by Goldwind Capital (Australia) Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd., (25% equity stake) and Beijing Jingneng Clean Energy (Hong Kong) Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of Beijing Jingneng Clean Energy Co Ltd., (BJCE) (75% equity stake) — for the Gullen Range Wind Farm (165.5 MW) and Gullen PV Solar Plant (10 MW) 2020 Refinancing Project. This loan carried a maturity period of five years and a final maturity date of September 15, 2025. All four banks contributed $47.08 million AUD ($34.48 million USD) to the loan syndicate. The proceeds of this loan were used by the borrower to refinance the project debt on the 165.5 MW Gullen Range Wind Farm and the 10 MW Gullen Solar Farm. Record ID#94876 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#94877 captures BoComm's contribution. Record ID#94878 captures ICBC's contribution.
Staff comments
1. IJGlobal's "Financial close for 165MW Australian wind farm", an article, states that the loan was worth $494.4 million AUD ($466 million USD) and divided into a construction facility tranche maturing in December 2014 a term loan tranche maturing in June 2018, with the banks lending in the same proportion for each tranches, name with NAB and ICBC committing $55.44 million AUD to each tranche and BOC, BoComm, and CCB committing $45.44 million AUD. However, IJGlobal's "Gullen Range Wind Farm (240.9MW)", from its transaction database, lists a singular term loan worth $245.52 million AUD maturing in June 2018 with ICBC and NAB providing $55.06 million AUD and BOC, BoComm, and CCB providing $45.13 million AUD. PFI's "2013 League Tables" suggests the loan was roughly equivalent to $234.5 million USD, which is very close to the USD equivalent of $245.52 million AUD ($236.94 million USD). Additionally, the 2014 and 2020 refinancing rounds are substantially closer in face value to $245.52 million AUD than $494.4 million AUD. Therefore, AidData has decided that the more conservative financial commitment is more accurate. The cause of the discrepancy between "Financial close for 165MW Australian wind farm" and the other sources is unknown. This issue warrants further investigation. 2. Project Finance International (PFI) identifies a syndicated loan (involving ICBC) to Gullen Range Wind Farm Pty Ltd (GRWF) in 2015 {{see https://www.dropbox.com/s/p9hjsjee5rbafe5/PFI-League-Tables2015.pdf?dl=0}}. However, AidData has not independently corroborate the receipt of a 2015 syndicated loan. This issue warrants further investigation. One possibility is that a syndicated loan was issued in 2015 to refinance the syndicated loan that was issued in 2014.