Infratil Limited announced the development of Mint Renewables Limited, a new Australian renewable energy platform.
Mint Renewables is backed by Infratil and the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC). Morrison & Co. will handle the investment for Infratil and CSC.
Infratil owns 73 per cent of Mint Renewables, while CSC owns the remaining 27 per cent. The investment entails an initial financial commitment of A$300 million (of which Infratil will contribute A$219 million), which will be invested over the following 3 to 5 years.
Infratil CEO Jason Boyes said Mint Renewables, the most recent addition to Infratil’s global renewables portfolio, will invest in developing wind, solar PV, and storage solutions across Australia, replicating Tilt Renewables’ platform strategy. Boyes stated that Infratil sold its 65.5 per cent ownership in Tilt for NZ$2 billion last year.
“The establishment of Mint Renewables deepens shareholders’ exposure to the forecast surge in global demand for renewables over the next few decades, complementing our renewable energy platforms across the United States (Longroad), Europe (Galileo), Asia (Gurin Energy), as well as Manawa Energy in New Zealand,” Boyes added.
According to Boyes, Mint Renewables’ goal is to achieve outsized returns through a long-term strategy for wealth generation, as demonstrated by Infratil. He said it’s great to collaborate with CSC again, this time in their home market.
Morrison & Co Operating Partner and former Tilt Renewables CEO, Deion Campbell, will preside over the board, along with two other Morrison & Co executives, former Tilt Renewables General Manager of Renewables Development Clayton Delmarter is a director.
Mint Renewables has named Peter Cowling as its new Head of Australia. Peter has almost two decades of expertise in the sector, including overseeing business development and sales of more than 7GW of capacity in Australia and New Zealand for some of the world’s major wind turbine manufacturers and playing a pivotal role in renewable energy policy creation. Peter is the current Chair of Australia’s main clean energy industry group, the Clean Energy Council.
CSC’s Chief Investment Officer, Alison Tarditi, stated that it was a compelling chance to back a fresh investment through an experienced team with a good operational track record in the business.
“We are pleased to be able to partner with Infratil, and its manager Morrison & Co, given our shared expertise in developing renewable energy platforms globally. This is an opportunity for us to continue to deliver strong returns to our customers by accessing a more complex segment of the renewables sector, robustly, and to develop assets that are additive to the supply of renewable energy in Australia,” Tarditi said.
According to Deion Campbell, re-entering the Australian renewables industry with closely aligned shareholders, a flexible approach, substantial experience, and extremely good credentials is thrilling.
“One thing we know is that Australia’s energy transition will not be straightforward. Being nimble and disciplined as we deploy the capital at our disposal will be important and give us an advantage over less agile, larger players,” Campbell added.
Campbell said: “Infratil’s investment with CSC combines supportive long-term capital with significant local market knowledge and experience, built up during more than two decades of successful participation in the Australian energy sector. We are confident that, given the calibre of the team we have already secured, we can once again build a significant and leading Australian renewables development platform.”
