FRV Australia has achieved financial close on the 250MW/500 megawatt-hour (MWh) Gnarwarre battery energy storage system (BESS) project in the state of Victoria, enhancing its renewable energy portfolio.
The milestone is part of FRV Australia’s commitment to supporting the country’s clean energy transition and enhancing grid stability.
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The Gnarwarre BESS project, FRV Australia’s largest to date, is financed under a portfolio financing facility established in July 2024. Upon completion, FRV Australia’s portfolio will have a total installed capacity of around 1.4GW.
The project’s funding comes from a syndicate of five financial institutions: Westpac Banking, United Overseas Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, KfW IPEX-Bank and Export Development Canada.
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation also played a supportive role early in the financing process. Legal advice was provided by White & Case for FRV Australia and Allens for the lenders.
In addition to the financial institutions’ support, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) awarded a A$15m grant to the project under its large-scale battery storage funding round. This grant will facilitate the integration of innovative grid-forming inverter technology – crucial for maintaining system stability as Australia moves away from traditional coal and gas generation.
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By GlobalDataFRV Australia CEO Carlo Frigerio stated: “The financial close of Gnarwarre is a major step for FRV Australia as we expand our battery storage projects and strengthen our position as a leader in renewable energy in Australia. Large-scale storage like this is essential to provide firming capacity that supports a reliable and clean energy system. This project also helps the state of Victoria reach its ambitious renewable energy and net-zero targets. I want to thank our existing and new lenders and ARENA for playing a key role in making this possible.”
FRV Australia’s integrated portfolio of generation and storage projects includes nine photovoltaic facilities across Australia and New Zealand, exceeding 1GW of capacity, and two large-scale BESS projects with a combined capacity of 350MW.
In early 2025, FRV Australia purchased the Axedale project, a combined solar and battery storage facility, from ACEN Australia.
