Rest to become the sole owner of Collgar Wind Farm in Western Australia
Monday, 24 June 2019
Rest has agreed to fully acquire the Collgar Wind Farm in Western Australia, which will make it one of the largest Australian renewable energy projects directly owned by an Australian superannuation fund.
Rest has been involved with Collgar since construction began in 2010, and previously held a 40 per cent stake in the project. Rest has agreed to acquire the remaining 60 per cent from UBS Asset Management's Real Estate & Private Markets Infrastructure business. The acquisition was negotiated and concluded by Rest’s internal investment manager, Super Investment Management.
“Collgar Wind Farm is a premium infrastructure asset that has been delivering strong returns for Rest members. Renewable energy projects like this will continue to play an important role in Australia’s future,” said George Zielinski, Chief Investment Officer for Super Investment Management.
“As an existing owner, Rest has been able to monitor and assess the wind farm’s operational performance since construction was completed in 2011. Taking full ownership is a great opportunity to drive further value from the asset and strengthen Rest’s infrastructure portfolio.
“The project has and is expected to continue to generate sustainable cash flows. We are confident it will help grow members’ retirement savings into the future.”
Collgar is the largest wind farm in WA, built on 18,000 hectares of land with a total capacity of 206 Megawatts.
Collgar generates, on average, between 40 and 50 per cent of the state’s renewable electricity. This is enough to power up to 170,000 average WA households per year and displace up to 690,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
The project holds a five-star Global Real Estate Sustainable Benchmark (GRESB) rating for 2018.
Collgar is located near Merredin in the Wheatbelt region, about 250 kilometres east of Perth.
Expanding the infrastructure portfolio
“Rest’s aim is to build out an infrastructure portfolio that is diversified across geographies and asset types. The portfolio also includes investments in other renewable energy projects, airports and transmission networks,” said Mr Zielinski.
“Infrastructure currently makes up about six per cent of the asset allocation of Rest’s Core Strategy.”
Rest is also a member of the Macquarie Infrastructure Partners-led consortium that entered into an agreement to acquire the Long Beach Container Terminal in April.
The terminal is located in the Port of Long Beach, California which, together with the neighbouring Port of Los Angeles, is part of the largest container port complex in the United States.
The terminal has one of the deepest berths and the fastest truck turnaround times of any facility in the combined Long Beach-Los Angeles complex. It can accommodate vessels capable of carrying up to 24,000 standard 20-foot containers.
The terminal uses electric autonomous guided vehicles and automated stacking cranes, which have improved productivity, safety and minimised greenhouse gas emissions.
The acquisition is subject to United States antitrust and Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CIFUS) approvals and is currently expected to reach financial close in the third quarter of 2019.
Imagery
To download photos of the Collgar Wind Farm, please follow this link.
To download photos of the Long Beach Container Terminal, please follow this link.
-ENDS-
For further information, please contact:
Michael Mills
Corporate Communications Manager
Michael.Mills@rest.com.au
m: 0428 499 722
About Rest
Rest is one of Australia’s largest superannuation funds by membership with more than 1.9 million members and around $50 billion in funds under management as at 31 December 2018. Rest is a member of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) and the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).