Windlab announced plans for a 58MW hybrid project in October 2015, the first phase of a wider project, the Big Kennedy Energy project.
The developer said it had successfully raised enough capital for the first phase followingnthe IPO, according to RenewEconomy. Construction could begin in the next few months, the company said.
Windlab reportedly floated 25 million shares at A$2 ($1.58) each, with the proceeds being divided between existing investors and Kennedy Energy Park’s first phase.
Kennedy Phase 1 is set to include 15MW solar and 41MW wind power, plus 2MW of storage capacity. It will be sited approximately 17 kilometres south west of the township of Hughenden in north Queensland.
The energy company will connect Kennedy Phase 1, a joint project with Japanese independent power producer Eurus Holdings, into the Cape River-to-Hughenden 66kV transmission line, which runs adjacent to the site.
Windlab added that it chose the site near Hughenden because on a typical day "the solar resource ramps up in the morning as the wind slows down, and in the evening as the sun is setting the wind picks up and continues to generate steady power throughout the night".
When operational next year, Kennedy Phase 1 will pave the way for a much larger hybrid wind, solar and storage plant.
The Big Kennedy project could provide as much capacity as 1.2GW and would cost about A$1billion ($792 million) to build, using debt and equity financing.
