Australia's renewable energy company CBD Energy Ltd said Monday it had finalized a joint venture with two Chinese companies to develop approximately six billion AU dollars (6.34 billion U.S. dollars) of wind and solar energy projects in Australia.
The Sydney-based CBD Energy said in a statement it had completed documentation which establishes a joint venture with China's second-largest wind-power producer by capacity, China Datang Renewable Power Co. and solar equipment maker Baodin Tianwei Baobian Electric Co. on Monday.
The companies will form a new entity called the AusChina Energy Group, which aims to develop three billion AU dollars (3.17 billion U.S. dollars) worth of wind and solar power plants in Australia within three years and six billion AU dollars (U.S. dollars) over the next eight years to obtain a market share of 33 percent of the Australian renewable energy market.
Under the deal, the Chinese firms would provide equipment and funding for the projects, lowering project costs, CBD general manager Gerry McGowan told Australian Associated Press.
McGowan said that as a result of this structure, he was confident the company's wind energy assets could reach grid price parity with coal-fired power within three years.
"We expect interest rates will be lower than what we can get domestically and the gearing can be higher than we can achieve in Australia, so it will lower our cost base," McGowan said.
"Also, the cost of manufacturing is coming down significantly and the output of turbines is going up significantly."
