HWL Ebsworth has advised German-owned Virya Energy on the $300 million sale of the Yanco Delta Wind Farm project to Origin Energy.

Located 10km north-west of Jerilderie in the New South Wales Government’s proposed South-West Renewable Energy Zone, the Yanco Delta Wind Farm project includes a proposed 1.5GW wind farm and 800 MWh battery. Once built, Yanco Delta Wind Farm will be one of the state’s most significant wind and energy storage projects.

At 1.5 GW, the sale represents the largest wind farm transaction in Australia, exceeding the Golden Plains Wind Farm project at 1.3GW (click here for more information on this deal), on which HWL Ebsworth also advised the project proponent and developer.

The complexity and scale of the Yanco Delta transaction required a multidisciplinary team from HWL Ebsworth, led by Peter Dreher (Partner, Corporate and Energy) with support from Matthew O’Connor (Special Counsel) and Dylan Dunstan (Associate). The Property team was led by Kendra McKay (Partner) with support from Kenneth Ho (Special Counsel), Lauren Fairchild (Solicitor) and Georgia Krs (Paralegal). The Planning team featured Kirston Gerathy (Partner) and John Paul Merlino (Partner). Tax advice for the transaction was given by Ari Schachna (Partner) and Paul Burgoyne (Special Counsel).

Commenting on the deal, Peter Dreher said:

“Virya Energy has effected a landmark transaction in Australia’s transition to renewable energy. HWL Ebsworth was pleased to support Virya’s development team for Yanco Delta, having worked together on various large scale wind energy projects with Virya’s management personnel over two decades. Our firm continues a leadership position in the market for large scale renewables development transactions.”

Note to Editors:

HWL Ebsworth is the largest legal partnership in Australia according to the most recent partnership surveys published by the Australian Financial Review.

The firm comprises 1,709, staff including 284 Partners, 1,048 other legal staff and 377 support staff across offices in nine locations – Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Darwin, Melbourne, Hobart, Norwest (North West Sydney), Perth and Sydney.

HWL Ebsworth is an independent, nationally integrated, full service commercial law firm, providing tailored and commercially oriented legal services.

HWL Ebsworth operates a different business model to the other leading national law practices, and this allows us to offer unrivalled value for money without compromising quality and service. Our low ratio of solicitors to partners ensures that our clients receive optimal access to partner resources for all matters.

For further information, please contact:

Russell Mailler, Chief Strategy Officer (03) 8644 3569 or rmailler@hwle.com.au

Angelique Kear, National Marketing Manager (02) 9334 8541 or akear@hwle.com.au