Ingka Investments has expanded its investment in TagEnergy's Golden Plains wind project in Victoria, Australia, by acquiring a 15% stake in the 577-MW second stage of the AUD 4 billion (USD 2.7 billion/EUR 2.46 billion) initiative.
The investment arm of Netherlands-based Ingka Group, which is the largest franchisee of Swedish furniture retailer IKEA, already holds a 15% interest in the project's first stage, which has a capacity of 756 MW. This additional purchase comes as turbines at Stage 1 commenced electricity delivery to the grid, according to developer TagEnergy.
Golden Plains Wind Farm East, also known as Stage 1, consists of 122 Vestas turbines, with the first erected in February. The AUD 2 billion park has power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 60% of its output and large-scale generation certificates (LGCs) secured with Snowy Hydro and Equinix.
Stage 2 is currently under construction and is expected to be completed by mid-2027. Financial close was achieved in June. Last month, EnergyAustralia signed a deal to off-take approximately 40% of the output, receiving electricity from around 345 MW of the overall capacity for a duration of 10 years.
Consistent with its pro-rata ownership stake in Stage 1, Ingka Investments will be entitled to claim up to 15% of Stage 2's output of electricity and Renewable Energy Attributes.
The 1.3-GW Golden Plains project, located near Geelong, will become the largest wind farm in the southern hemisphere. Once fully operational, it is expected to produce over 4,000 GWh of electricity annually, enough to power more than 750,000 local homes.
