IFM Investors and Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), two of Australia's largest infrastructure fund managers, have collaborated on a new renewable energy program to help reduce electricity costs and greenhouse gas emissions at key Australian airports, ports, energy utilities, roads, and hospitals.
The two companies have entered into a renewable energy power purchase agreement with Origin Energy for their crucial infrastructure assets.
The first stage of the agreement involved 132GWh and is expected to save 85,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year, with the remaining two stages estimated to save another 165,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year by 2025, the equivalent of cutting down the carbon footprint of a regional town of 100 thousand people.
The energy involved will come from the Stockyard Hill wind farm in Ballarat, Victoria, and will be counted and matched against the electricity used by the companies buying it.
Other vital assets are expected to join the program as part of phases 2 and 3, which will be disclosed in the following months.
Renewable Energy Hub's consulting team collaborated with IFM and QIC from the early stages of the PPA concept to market process design and contract execution, supporting all stakeholders at the asset level.
IFM and QIC frequently compete for infrastructure assets, but by working together, the projects can increase demand for renewable energy and stimulate investment in renewable generating, said Kyle Mangini, IFM's global head of infrastructure.
With this initiative, several of IFM's assets will be able to adjust their net zero emission reduction targets and commit to markedly shorter time frames. These pledges will also help IFM and QIC reach and even exceed their own net zero ambitions, with the PPA program assisting in meeting and potentially exceeding the companies’ 2030 interim carbon reduction targets for infrastructure published last year.
