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19 October 20222 minute read

DLA Piper advises Solar United Network on acquisition of largest operating solar farm in Western Australia

Global law firm DLA Piper was delighted to have advised Singapore-based, Solar United Network Pte. Ltd., on its acquisition of the 132MWDC Merredin Solar Farm in Western Australia from Risen Energy.

“It was a pleasure to have lead a cross-border team of legal experts with the full set of legal expertise and experience necessary to assist Solar United Network successfully complete its first renewable energy investment in Australia” said Chris Mitchell, Partner, DLA Piper Australia.

“The Merredin Solar Farm, which has a 50% offtake agreement with BHP’s Nickel West Kwianana, is a strategically important facility and plays a significant role in Western Australia’s commitment to the transition to net zero. Solar United Network’s acquisition and investment in the project underpins its commitment to renewable energy generation and compliments its leading and expanding footprint in the commercial and industrial solar generation sector in Asia Pacific,” Chris said.

The Merredin Solar Farm is the largest operating solar farm in Western Australia with a total of 354,452 panels spread over 460 hectares and expected annual renewable power generation of 274 GWh. This is enough green energy to power approximately 42,000 homes in Western Australia. Operational since August 2020, Merredin is connected to the Western Power Merredin Terminal Substation at 220 kV.

The deal was led by Melbourne-based corporate partner Chris Mitchell, supported by partners Fleur Gibbons, Eagul Faigen, Rhys Davies and Alex Regan, senior associates Chanel Mercurio, Marnie Callie and Madison Alexeeff and solicitors Lisa Huynh, Ashvin Sandra Segaran and Joanne Lim.

Completion of this transaction follows a continuous and steady stream of market leading and industry defining transactions and projects that our team is working on across the renewable energy and broader energy and infrastructure sectors in support of Australia's push towards net zero – including, our role in advising BlackRock Real Assets on its commitment to investing more than $1 billion to drive the build-out of 1GW of battery energy storage systems ("BESS") across Australia through the acquisition of the impressive Akaysha Energy.

More broadly, DLA Piper was ranked the #1 Global Renewable Energy Legal Adviser for 2021 by Inspiratia and, for the 12th consecutive year, the highest-ranked legal advisor in the world for M&A deal volume according to Mergermarket's league tables.

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