Beijing Energy International seeks to partner with investors for Australian solar farm acquisition
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Beijing Energy International Holding, the investment arm of the Chinese capital city, is open to teaming up with new investors to purchase several solar farms in Australia, a company official told Reuters.
In December 2023, the energy company announced that it had signed an agreement of up to $535 million to buy five solar farms across Australia from Lightsource BP.
However, the company has been waiting for months for approval from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), the final step needed to complete the deal.
Warwick Smith, a prominent Australian businessman and chairman of BJEI’s local subsidiary, stated that the company has met all of FIRB’s regulatory requirements.
He told Reuters, “My sense of it is that it’s a state-owned enterprise, but it has intentions to reduce its equity levels, so that’s a big plus in its favor.”
The Chinese company entered Australia in 2014 by acquiring a wind farm in New South Wales.
With the purchase of the solar farms from Lightsource BP, it would become the largest owner of utility-scale solar projects in Australia, surpassing France’s Neoen and Spain’s FRV, according to consultancy Rystad Energy.
Read more: Australia to invest $1 billion in solar panel manufacturing
Foreign investments in Australia’s renewable energy sector have faced intense scrutiny, as Canberra considers the electricity sector to involve critical infrastructure vital to national security.
BJEI also plans to acquire the Australian electricity and gas retailer CovaU, which TPC Consolidated Limited owns. This acquisition is also pending a decision from FIRB and has a revised expiry date of July 31.
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