Solar Farm Projects
21 September, 2020
Sustainable Energy Infrastructure (“SEI”) and Yates Electrical Services Group (“YES Group”) have entered into a long-term agreement to develop, own, operate, maintain and manage the energy sales for a platform of mid-large scale solar farm projects in regional Australia.
The first phase will see SEI and Yes Group developing up to 20MW of new solar farms within the next 18 months across South Australia and Victoria, with the first two projects in South Australia expected to commence construction this calendar year.
SEI, managed by Whitehelm Capital (“Whitehelm”) on behalf of a consortium of Australian superannuation funds, recognises the value of developing and providing sustainable energy solutions across regional Australia. This long-term partnership between SEI and YES Group, an established renewable energy asset developer, operator and retailer is a strong fit considering the shared philosophy on risk, safety, quality and ESG values.
Saji Anantakrishnan, Whitehelm’s Head of Australia and Asia, on behalf of SEI’s unitholders, said “We look forward to working with Mark Yates and the YES Group to deliver a portfolio of efficient energy solutions with a strong focus on sustainability and supporting local communities, consistent with SEI and Whitehelm Capital’s approach to responsible investment.”
“The partnership between SEI and YES Group is typical of our mid-market infrastructure strategy, which focuses on building long-term complementary partnerships with experienced industry counterparties to ensure strong value creation through an identified pipeline of growth opportunities.”
Mark Yates, Managing Director YES Group, said “We are thrilled to be partnering with SEI to build and operate a portfolio of distributed solar assets across regional Australia. This deal is right in the sweet spot for the YES Group, leveraging our high voltage and construction expertise along with our YES Energy capability to manage the sale of energy, ultimately through to the end consumers. This is an exciting long term strategic relationship with great potential as the energy market continues to evolve through its transition to renewables.“
“We share SEI’s commitment to local communities and welcome both the job creation and job certainty which is underpinned by this investment.”
About SEI:
SEI is a leading partner in sustainable energy infrastructure asset solutions. SEI owns and operates a portfolio of 18 generation and distributed energy assets across Australia with operations overseen by an experienced in-house management team.
SEI is owned by two leading Australian superannuation funds with a long track record of investing in Australian infrastructure. SEI is managed by Whitehelm Capital, a leading independent infrastructure investment manager with a 23-year investment track record and over $5.6 billion in funds under management and over $20 billion in assets under advice.
About YES Group:
Based in the Riverland of South Australia, Yates Electrical Services (YES GROUP) have been delivering high quality construction services to the renewable energy sector since 2004. Established by Riverland local Mark Yates, the company has been instrumental in the development of numerous renewable high-voltage projects across Australia, including high voltage substation construction and wind and solar farm project development. Over the last 5 years, YES Group has developed and constructed over 80 solar farms in the sub 5MW market, managing 100% of the renewable energy generation offtake into the National Electricity Market through its YES Energy Retail business.