Octopus Australia is pleased to announce the successful acquisition of an additional 28,000 hectares of land near Deniliquin, NSW, for the development of the new 1GW Merino Wind Farm. This land is adjacent to the 400MW Saltbush (formerly Hay Plains) Wind Farm also owned by Octopus.
With this latest acquisition, Octopus has now secured up to 35,000 hectares in the South-West NSW Renewable Energy Zone (SW-NSW REZ), owing to the strong trust and relationships established with the local landowners. This extensive landholding will enable the generation of over 1.5GW of power through the ongoing development of the 400MW Saltbush Wind Farm and the newly established $3.5 billion, 1GW Merino Wind Farm. These developments will be supported by large scale solar and battery storage, creating firmed renewable energy generation for the area. The additional land also offers the potential to connect to key transmission lines in the future, strategically positioning Octopus for the upcoming and future Access Rights Tenders.
On the back of the 2024-25 Federal Budget and the Government’s plans for Australia to be a renewable energy superpower, multi-billion-dollar wind projects of this scale will be key in delivering on this target and driving momentum towards net zero emissions.
We’re committed to building on our existing relationships and collaborating with the community, neighbours, and traditional custodians of the land to ensure these projects become a sustainable and valuable part of the region’s future.
This latest announcement builds on our secured renewables portfolio in strategic locations across Australia’s major east-coast energy markets. Octopus now has an operating and development portfolio of over $11bn*, which includes Fulham Solar Farm and Battery and Blind Creek Solar Farm and Battery, both of which are due to start construction later this year.
“The acquisition marks a major milestone in Octopus Australia’s strategy to build a portfolio of energy assets which model what a future clean energy generation base will look like in Australia. These cornerstone wind assets supplemented with Octopus’ storage and solar developments across the NEM, are designed to be an integrated, multi-technology portfolio that can offer truly unique and differentiated Power Purchase Agreement products to energy customers and sustainable value to investors.”
Darren Brown, Co-Managing Director, Octopus Australia
*Enterprise value at completion.
