Norton Rose Fulbright has advised the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) on a A$164 million 56MW solar photovoltaic power plant to be constructed at Moree, New South Wales. ARENA is to provide A$101.7 million in grant funds to Moree Solar Farm Pty Ltd. The project will also be partially funded by a A$47 million loan from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

The project is unique to the Australian market as it will be the first large-scale photovoltaic solar farm in Australia to use mechanical trackers to align panels with the sun. It is also is set to become the first in Australia to be built on a merchant basis where electricity output generated by the plant will be sold directly into the national electricity market, rather than through a major retailer.

Norton Rose Fulbright advised ARENA on all aspects of the transaction including corporate and commercial; banking and finance; construction and engineering; tax; occupational health, safety and security; and environment and planning.

The Norton Rose Fulbright legal team was led by partner Vince Sharma and associate Lynn Nguyen. Mr Sharma said, “we were delighted to be given the opportunity to work with a committed and professional ARENA team on this exciting and ground-breaking project.

“The project is a prime example of the great work that ARENA is doing within the renewable energy industry, and we are very pleased to have been a part of it.”