RES appointed as Construction and Asset Manager for Columboola Solar Farm

In Australia, RES has secured the Construction and Asset Management Contract for the 162MW Columboola Solar Farm in Queensland. Hana Financial (advised by ICA Partners and DR&AJU) completed the final stages of development and achieved financial close on the project earlier this month.

Construction at Columboola will start immediately. RES’ Construction Management team will support the delivery of the project into operations by managing the EPC and grid connection contracts for the owner. Further, RES will provide a full-time site representative to monitor the construction progress. RES’ in house grid engineering team will support the project throughout the AEMO registration process.

The RES’ Asset Management team will support the preparation of the solar farm for operations by finalising key registrations and engaging RES’ 24/7 Global Control Centre for operational communications with AEMO and plant monitoring. Once operational RES’ local experts, supported by their global network of renewable energy specialists will be on the lookout for additional opportunities to improve the plant’s performance.

Matt Rebbeck, CEO of RES in Australia, said “We manage one of the largest operational portfolios of renewable assets globally. Our dedicated team and strong, in-house technical expertise means that we are able to work closely with investors to get the best from their assets and respond to the challenges and opportunities to be found across the Australian electricity market, as they emerge.” Matt continued: “We congratulate Hana Financial for reaching financial close of Columboola Solar Farm and look forward to playing our role in another successful high-quality renewable energy project. This construction and asset management contract is a sign of the continued growth of the RES construction and asset management team in Australia – and our ambition to further strengthen RES’ relationships with local investors and grow our local construction and asset management portfolio.”

RES’ renewable assets managed to date in the Australian market are now over 1.3GW. A large portion of assets under management are third-party developed projects where RES have built up specific expertise at on-boarding and integrating such sites. RES supports over 6.5GW of renewable energy assets globally.