Gaw Capital Partners, an Asian private equity firm, has partnered with BW Group, a private company in the shipping and energy industry, to establish a $2 billion battery venture. The aim of this project is to develop over 1.6 gigawatts of large battery projects that will be part of Australia’s transition to low-emission energy.
The new venture, named Valent Energy, will develop battery projects that Gaw Capital acquired during the purchase of GMR Energy in 2022, which included the Australian branch of Maoneng Group.
Valent Energy’s portfolio includes seven batteries and one photovoltaic farm project. Out of these projects, three have already been approved for planning and grid connection and are finalizing agreements to begin construction. The most advanced projects are a 240-megawatt battery in Mornington, Victoria, a 250-megawatt Pine Lodge battery near Shepparton, Victoria, and a 120-megawatt Apsley battery project south of Dubbo, New South Wales. Three other projects are still awaiting approval for grid connection.
This new investment partnership reflects the growing interest in the energy storage sector as large batteries have become crucial infrastructure to support variable wind and solar power, while coal power plants, historically important for supplying the grid, are nearing closure. These projects are often supported by government programs at the federal and state levels, offering grants for low-emission energy sources that can provide on-demand power.
“With the implementation of significant government policies supporting battery projects and record periods of negative pricing during sunny floods, the timing for Valent to develop large batteries could not be better,” said Mr. Yates, former CEO of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and a former employee of Macquarie Bank, who joined Gaw to manage the climate strategy for Australia.
For BW ESS, the energy storage division of the BW Group, which also has battery projects in the UK and Nordic countries, partnering with Gaw Capital will accelerate the development of projects in Australia.
“I am confident that Valent will combine our industry experience with the capital market to successfully deliver assets that are essential in Australia’s energy space,” said Christina Gaw, Global Director of Capital Markets and Co-Head of Alternative Investments at Gaw Capital.
The new Valent Energy venture promises dynamic growth in the energy storage sector in Australia and will strengthen the country’s energy transformation.
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The source of the article is from the blog revistatenerife.com