POWERCHINA Resources Ltd is making its first move into the Australian renewables market with the acquisition of an 80% stake in the Cattle Hill Wind Farm development project in Tasmania.

PowerChina Resources is the overseas investment arm of the Power Construction Corporation of China Ltd, one of China's biggest multinationals.

The seller is another Chinese company, developer Goldwind Capital Australia, which will retain the remaining 20% stake in the project. Australian law firm Allens collaborated with Linklaters to advise on all aspects of the deal in Australia and China, including legal due diligence and transaction documents.

Cattle Hill Wind Farm is located on the eastern shore of Lake Echo, on the southern side of the Central Plateau of Tasmania. Approvals have been received from Council, State and Commonwealth Regulators for the construction and operation of wind turbine generators and associated infrastructure. The project will consist of 48 Goldwind turbines, producing up to 150MW of clean renewable electricity. The wind farm will be one of the largest in Tasmania once completed in late 2019.

The wind park will be connected to the power grid through TasNetworks’ Waddamana substation. The energy will be purchased by state government-owned electricity retailer Aurora Energy under a long-term contract.

Initial development of the project, including detailed site analysis, concept design, onsite wind monitoring, and submission of the Development Application and related Environmental Management Plan was undertaken by NP Power Pty Ltd. Goldwind acquired the project in September 2017.

Goldwind Australia is a wholly owned subsidiary of Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology, a leading vertically integrated global wind power company.