December 26 (Renewables Now) - Danish fund manager Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has agreed to acquire the assets forming the AUD-5-billion (USD 3.34bn/EUR 3.16bn) Bowen Renewable Energy Hub in Queensland, Australia.

 

The assets will be purchased from local developers Bowen River Utilities and Renewable Energy Partners. The massive project will be renamed Capricornia Energy Hub, Samuel Woldu, director of CIP Australia said on Friday.

 

The giga-scale development is planned to include 1.4 GW of pumped storage hydropower facilities, 500 MW of wind turbines, over 1 GW of photovoltaic (PV) panels and a 200-MW electrolyser for the production of green hydrogen. According to the original plan, the first stage of the project will add 750 MW/12,000 MWh of storage capacity by 2028. The second phase of the scheme will deliver an additional 12,000 MWh of storage.

 

CIP intends to partner with government-owned CS Energy, which in August signed a Memorandum of Understanding to consider options for participating in the scheme such as a power purchase agreement, equity funding and project operations.

 

In Australia, CIP is already among the big market players for renewables. It takes part in the up-to-2.2-GW Star of the South wind project offshore Victoria and the 5-GW Murchison green hydrogen project in Western Australia.