Simpson Grierson, White & Case confirmed their roles in recent transactions
In recent weeks, Simpson Grierson advised electricity lines business Centralines Limited while White & Case and Buddle Findlay tackled transactions involving solar farms.
A team from Simpson Grierson guided Centralines on the financial close of a landmark joint venture with Lodestone Energy.
The JV represents Lodestone Energy’s first partnership with an electricity distribution business on a utility-scale generation project. The deal sets a 50:50 limited partnership to fund, develop and operate the Central Hawke’s Bay Solar Farm on the Ruataniwha Plains.
The 31.5MWdc farm is set to begin operations in late summer 2027 and is expected to produce about 50GWh of renewable electricity each year – enough power for about 7,000 homes.
“This is the first time Lodestone has partnered with a lines company in this way, and we think it’s a model others will follow. The combination of a distributor’s network knowledge with a developer’s solar expertise is a powerful one”, Simpson Grierson co-lead partner Simon Vannini said. “Regulatory settings are also moving in a direction that will make this model easier and more attractive”.
Vannini and co-lead partner Edward Norman headed up the team that helped Centralines throughout all stages and project streams. The team guided the RFP process and the choice of Lodestone Energy as a JV partner.
The team also helped establish the limited partnership SPV and negotiated governance, commercial and risk-sharing arrangements between the parties. It handled the EPC and O&M agreements, early works procurement, network connectivity arrangements, power purchase agreements, and land subdivision and leasing.
Moreover, the Simpson Grierson team advised Centralines on the non-recourse financing structure and its interaction with the JV arrangements. It sought to ensure the structure’s alignment with Centralines’ obligations as a regulated distribution business.
Vannini and Norman worked together with construction partner Shanti Frater, special counsel Chris Browne, senior associate Nicola Peak and senior solicitor Isabel Van Tuinen.
A team from White & Case advised a syndicate of global lenders comprising ANZ Bank New Zealand, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, DZ Bank and Mizuho on the $285m project financing of the 171MWdc Glorit Solar Farm on the Kaipara Coast.
According to Sydney-based White & Case lead partner Cameron Watson, the deal featured “a sophisticated multi-tranche, limited recourse financing structure and a diverse syndicate of national and international lenders”. Lightsource bp and Contact Energy co-own the farm, which is set to have a minimum operational life of 35 years. A 1.5km dedicated connection will link the farm to the Transpower 220kV transmission network.
Watson worked alongside associates Kevin Chen, Shane Dunleavy and Max Drummond on the deal. The farm is the first grid-scale solar farm to be constructed in the Auckland region and is expected to power about 40,000 homes; it has also received the green light for a battery energy storage system to store and release solar energy as necessary.
Meanwhile, Buddle Findlay served as the lead advisor to Lightsource bp and Contact Energy on the consenting of the solar farm through the Natural and Built Environment Act Fast-track process and subsequent High Court appeal. The team worked with a team from Mallesons to advise Glorit Solar P LP on the farm’s New Zealand legal project development, implementation and financing.
The Buddle Findlay team also helped Glorit Solar P LP secure overseas investment consent and an exemption from the farm land advertising requirements. The team consisted of partners Vanessa Evitt, Daniel Collins, Ed McGimpsey and Susie Kilty as well as senior associates Mathew Gribben and Hannah Lee.
“It's an exciting step for large-scale solar development in New Zealand and more broadly our continuing energy transition”, Evitt said.
