Maoneng Partners with Gaw Capital in 1.9GW Portfolio

- Real estate private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners, enters the renewable energy sector with an investment in Maoneng Group’s Australian business through its growth equity arm, Gaw Growth Equity Fund I.
- Gaw Maoneng Renewables will fast track development of over 1.9GW of utility-scale battery energy storage and solar power generation in six projects across Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia.
- Under the partnership, Gaw Capital Partners will lead in securing equity and debt financing for the construction of existing projects and with an estimated capex of over A$2 billion.
- Maoneng’s lead project, Mornington BESS, is expected to break ground in the first quarter of 2023.

Real estate private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners has entered Australia’s fast growing renewable energy sector with a majority investment in Maoneng Group’s Australian business, the developer of one of the largest portfolios of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Australia.

Gaw Maoneng Renewables (GMR) will fast-track the development of six major projects in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia with a total of 1.9GW in battery storage and solar power generation, and explore new renewable energy opportunities.

The six major projects include:
- the Mornington BESS in Victoria and the Gould Creek BESS in South Australia, both of which have received Development Application approvals; three BESS projects in NSW, which applications have been lodged for; and
- the planned Merriwa Energy Hub which encompasses both battery storage and solar generation in one of the few remaining large-scale sites in the state fit for purpose.
- The estimated capex for the construction and build out of the portfolio is upwards of A$2 billion and will be secured in the form of equity and debt through the support of Gaw Capital Partners and its existing stable of institutional investors with an interest in Australian renewable energy infrastructure.

Gaw Capital Partners is a uniquely positioned private equity fund management company focusing on real estate markets in Asia Pacific and other high barrier-to-entry markets globally.

The lead project of the new joint venture will be the 240MWp/480MWh Mornington BESS, which is scheduled to commence construction by the first quarter of 2023 having already received both development and connection approvals.

Morris Zhou, GMR Chief Executive and Managing Director, said: “We are very excited to partner with Gaw Capital in building out our renewable energy portfolio, including six battery storage projects.

“The transition to renewable energy in Australia is accelerating under this government’s policy, and batteries are a key piece to the puzzle in facilitating higher grid penetration by solar and wind. The partnership allows us to focus on the job and to get it done sooner.”

Christina Gaw, Managing Principal, Global Head of Capital Markets and Co-Chair of Alternative Investments of Gaw Capital Partners, said:
“With the growing interest conveyed to us by many of our institutional investors to allocate capital to tangible assets in the clean energy and ESG space in Asia and Australia, we are very pleased with the opportunity to back one of the largest energy infrastructure investments in support of Australia’s energy transition away from fossil fuels.”

Herbin Koh, Director, Head of Venture and Growth Equity of Gaw Capital, said: “We have been looking for some time at a suitable entry into the clean energy investment sector, and utility-scale batteries underpin the dispatchable energy requirements for the grid to transition from its mix from coal and gas to renewable energy generation.

“We are pleased to work with Morris and the Maoneng team to lead the way and expect to expand GMR significantly in the coming years through the development and investment in renewables.”