Mainstream Renewable Power and Someva Renewables awarded a 500 MW investigative permit for onshore wind farm in New South Wales, Australia

23 May 2024 07:12 CEST

Mainstream Renewable Power ("Mainstream"), the global pure-play renewable energy
company majority-owned by Aker Horizons ASA, and Someva Renewables ("Someva"),
an Australia-based renewable energy developer, have been awarded a permit by the
Forestry Corporation of New South Wales, Australia to jointly investigate an
onshore windfarm at Sunny Corner with a potential capacity of approximately 500
MW.

The Sunny Corner project, a joint venture between Mainstream and Someva, was
awarded the permit following a 15-month competitive tender and selection
process.  The project would be one of the first wind farms to be hosted in a New
South Wales State Plantation Forest.

The proposed wind farm will be located within the Sunny Corner State Forest,
approximately halfway between Lithgow and Bathurst and 200 kilometres from
Sydney's Central Business District.  When fully operational, it could power an
estimated 300,000 homes and save over 1 million tonnes of carbon from being
released each year.

The next investigative stages include the installation of a met mast alongside
consultation with local communities, First Nations people, forest users,
councils, and businesses to understand the local environment and co-design the
community benefits program. Following these stages, the project would progress
through the normal development process seeking planning approvals from the New
South Wales Government.

Throughout the development, construction and operations of the wind project, the
Sunny Corner State Forest would remain accessible for forestry users, and
recreational activities.

Much of Sunny Corner State Forest is used for industrial softwood production by
the state-owned Forestry Corporation. The pine plantations are well-suited for
wind farms as they offer large areas in windy locations with access to
powerlines and existing road network.

Mainstream's Group CEO Mary Quaney said: "We applaud the vision of the Forestry
Corporation in seeking to diversify their land use to support the renewable
energy transition, and we recognise the important role that Sunny Corner Wind
Farm could play in New South Wales' energy transition, providing clean,
affordable and reliable power."

Someva Managing Director, Jamie Chivers said: "This is a milestone project for
New South Wales and an example of how innovative renewable energy developments
can help strengthen regional prosperity. We are excited to be working on this
project with Mainstream. We look forward to meeting local communities, First
Nations people, forestry users and local interests' groups to understand how we
can incorporate their feedback into the proposed project."

Anshul Chaudhary, CEO of the Forestry Corporation of New South Wales said, "We
are delighted to have awarded a permit to Mainstream and Someva to investigate a
wind farm in Sunny Corner State Forest. After a highly competitive tender
process, this will be one of four wind farms to be investigated in a New South
Wales State softwood plantation."

The permits are the first to be awarded after New South Wales Parliament passed
amendments to the Forestry Act 2012 allowing State Forests to host renewable
energy projects in 2021.

The Sunny Corner project is a 51/49 joint venture between Mainstream Renewable
Power and Someva Renewables.

Stay up to date on the development of Sunny Corner Wind Farm by visiting
www.mainstreamrp.com/sunnycorner and  www.somevarenewables.com.au/sunnycorner

ENDS

Media contacts:
Niamh McGrath, Communications Manager
Mobile: + 353 (87) 6416831
Email: niamh.mcgrath@mainstreamrp.com

Chris Williams, Someva Media Contact
+61 480 386 879
chris@kaizenco.au

About Mainstream Renewable Power:

Mainstream Renewable Power is a leading pure-play renewable energy company with
wind and solar assets across Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia-Pacific.

Mainstream is one of the most successful developers of gigawatt-scale renewables
platforms, across onshore wind, offshore wind, and solar power generation. The
company has successfully delivered 6.6 GW of wind and solar generation assets to
financial close-ready and has a global project portfolio of over 23.9 GW.

Mainstream entered the Australian market in 2019, with a local office in
Melbourne and an experienced development team on the ground. Currently,
Mainstream has a net pipeline of 1.75 GW of onshore wind farm developments in
central Queensland and New South Wales.  On 01 May 2024, a Mainstream consortium
was awarded a feasibility licence for a 2.5 GW offshore wind development off the
Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia.

For more information, visit mainstreamrp.com  (https://www.mainstreamrp.com/)

About Someva Renewables:

Someva Renewables is an 100% Australian-owned, NSW-based renewable energy
company that works with landowners, communities, and industry leaders to deliver
the clean, affordable and reliable energy that will power Australia's future.
Someva carefully selects renewable energy projects before working with
communities, leading technical advisors and industry partners, to deliver truly
industry-leading renewable energy projects.

For more information, visit
somevarenewables.com.au (http://www.somevarenewables.com.au).

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