Australia’s Edify Energy said it has achieved financial close on its neighbouring Smoky Creek and Guthrie’s Gap hybrid projects that will together add 720 MWp of solar and 600 MW/2,400 MWh of energy storage capacity in Queensland.

The renewables developer now owned by Canadian giant La Caisse has secured financing from a syndicate of 14 domestic and international lenders to bankroll the two schemes. The milestone was achieved with the support of La Caisse, with the financing package being delivered under a greenfield renewable energy debt financing platform. Smoky and Creek and Guthrie’s Gap are the first projects financed under the specific platform.

The two solar-storage parks, which Edify says are the largest ones of its kind in Australia, will be built on traditional lands of the Gaangalu Nation People in Banana Shire, in Queensland’s Capricorn region. Both sites will be equipped with grid-forming inverter technologies expected to help enhance the stability and resilience of the power network.

The operation of the entire complex is underpinned by long-term hybrid services agreements (HSAs) with Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) under which the mining giant will procure 90% of the solar and battery capacity. The output will be used to power the miner’s Gladstone aluminium operations for 20 years.

Both projects are winners in the federal government’s Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) in late 2024. DT Infrastructure was recently tasked with the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the plants.