Australia’s CEFC commits $116m to clean energy logistics

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Australia’s state-run green financier, is providing A$150 million ($116 million; €102 million) to fund the development of a major intermodal terminal in south-western Sydney.  

The project is the CEFC’s first investment in transport and will form part of the Moore bank Logistics Park, which is being developed by Qube Holdings. The project will be the largest intermodal freight precinct in Australia and includes an import-export rail terminal and up to 850,000 square metres of co-located warehousing. 

It will be developed across 243 hectares in south-western Sydney, a location near the Southern Sydney Freight Line and the M5 and M7 motorways. Qube has the development property and asset management rights under a 99-year lease with the government. 

The logistics scheme is expected to reach full capacity by 2030 and aims to take emissions-intensive trucks off the roads by increasing the use of railway networks to distribute containerised freight to and from Port Botany.
The CEFC added that the project will also incorporate large-scale renewable energy sources on site, which will generate 65,000MWh per year of electricity – equivalent to powering more than 10,000 homes. 

The financing facility being provided to Qube includes seven-year bilateral-term debt, to be used as medium-term funding for the staged construction of the intermodal terminal. 

“Emissions from road freight transport are a substantial part of our carbon emissions challenge,” said Ian Learmonth, chief executive of the CEFC. “By switching to rail solutions, the Moorebank project will reduce emissions, reduce urban congestion and improve national freight connectivity for years to come.

“Through this investment, the CEFC will work with Qube to help influence project engineering, construction and design decisions to tackle some of Australia’s toughest energy challenges, including ambitious energy efficiency and reduced transport emissions.”