Malaysia’s Gentari Marks Entry into Australia With Acquisition of Wirsol Energy

Gentari acquires Wirsol

Malaysian clean energy company Gentari has concluded the acquisition of Wirsol Energy and its assets from the Australia-based Wircon Group. Wirsol owns as well as operates projects in renewable energy and storage projects across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. The acquisition marks Gentari’s entry into Australia’s renewable energy market.

Wirsol Energy’s portfolio entails 422 MW worth of operational capacity (solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) assets). It has another 765 MW which is being developed.

Sushil Purohit, CEO, Gentari, stated, “Australia offers strong market potential, underpinned by supportive government policies and a robust financing ecosystem, making the investment into Wirsol Energy a natural choice for Gentari. This addition to Gentari’s portfolio will enable us to continue our efforts in building capacity for delivering integrated sustainable energy solutions, to help customers make the journey to net-zero emissions.”

Gentari has set itself a goal to achieve 40 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030 and the acquisition will facilitate this ambition. The acquisition will also take the firm’s cumulative renewable portfolio to almost 1.6 GW across Malaysia, India, the UAE and Australia.

Gentari aspires to augment solar and BESS capacity while also cementing its position as a green hydrogen producer. Australia, which is a strategic market with high demand, could prove to be a pathway to these ambitions.

Presently, the Australian national electricity market is looking to move away away from coal-fired generation, accounting for 66% of the total power traded on the market. It wants to curb emissions by 26-28% from 2005 levels by 2030.

Late last year, Wirsol had entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Australia’s energy firm Flow Power. The PPA paves the way for Wirsol Energy to supply 34% of the clean energy from the Clermont Solar Farm in Queensland, Australia, to Flow Power.

Recently, Japan-based IHI Corporation and Gentari Hydrogen had joined hands to assess viability of Malaysia’s solar resources for production and the selling of green ammonia derived from renewables.