Infigen offloads its French assets

Adelaide Advertiser
Wednesday 7/4/2010 Page: 55

AUSTRALIAN wind farm developer Infigen Energy has sold its French assets for $104 million to a European renewable energy fund, in what is the first step towards clearing debt and fast-tracking key Australian projects. The sale of the "non-core" business comprising 52MW of operational wind farms to ILP will result in an estimated accounting loss of $4.25 million.

Net sale proceeds of about $14.7 million, after debt repayment and transaction related costs, will be used to strengthen the company's Australian development pipeline. In South Australia, this pipeline includes the proposed 450MW project at WoakWine and another 177MW one at Lincoln Gap.

Infigen Energy already has a strong track record of wind farm development in the Limestone Coast region with the Lake Bonney wind farm, which comprises Lake Bonney 1 (80.5MW), Lake Bonney 2 (159MW) and the near-complete Lake Bonney 3 (39MW). Turbines are being commissioned for the Lake Bonney 3 development, which is due to be completed this month.

The sale of the French business will provide additional cash for equity investment in the pipeline, managing director Miles George said. "This is consistent with redirecting our future focus to the Australian renewable energy market, which is poised for strong growth over the next 10 years," he said. Infigen Energy also terminated the sale of its German assets because of lower "currently achievable prices, given the subdued state of European economies and capital markets". The company is in "the final binding bid phase" of its US asset sale process.