Frontier Energy Signs Federal Revenue Deal for Waroona Solar-Battery

• Frontier Energy executed a Capacity Investment Scheme agreement for Stage One of Waroona, a 132-MW solar and 81.5-MW battery project in Western Australia.
• The agreement clears one of the final conditions for a A$280 million debt facility, which has not yet reached financial close.
• Frontier expects financial close shortly, a sod-turning on Nov. 13 and first generation in 2028.

Frontier Energy Ltd. has executed a Capacity Investment Scheme agreement with the Australian government for Stage One of its Waroona project in Western Australia, the company said on Nov. 6. Stage One pairs a 132-MW solar facility with an 81.5-MW battery about 120 kilometers south of Perth.

The signature is not financial close. It clears one of the final conditions for debt of up to A$280 million ($193 million) from a syndicate led by Natixis CIB and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. A Nov. 2 filing also named interest-rate hedging as a condition, and the Nov. 6 statement does not say whether that is done. Frontier said no major conditions remain and that close will come shortly.

Under the federal scheme, the government tops up revenue that falls below a floor price set in the developer's tender. Above a ceiling, it takes 50% of the upside, a September investor presentation shows. Frontier said the agreement's financial details are confidential, so no floor has been published. Combined with Western Australia's reserve capacity payments, it provides minimum revenue support until 2042 and does not change Stage One's revenue forecast, the company said.

Waroona was one of three winners in CIS Tender 6, the Western Australian dispatchable round announced May 2. An earlier version listed at 80 MW and 380 MWh won Tender 2 in March 2025. It has since withdrawn from that round, the energy department's list shows.

The project in numbers

• 132 MW of solar and 81.5 MW of battery capacity in Stage One.
• 562 MWh of storage from 81.5 MW × 6.9 hours at nameplate (list.solar calculation); the federal tender list shows 565 MWh.
• A$310 million ($214 million) capital budget, plus A$22.5 million of contingency.
• A$360,700 per MW a year, before inflation, is the fixed reserve capacity price on 99 MW until Sept. 30, 2032.
• 15.3% of the 3,683 MWh awarded in Tender 6 goes to Waroona, using the 565-MWh figure (list.solar calculation).

"The support provided under the Capacity Investment Scheme was a key factor in Frontier securing its $280 million debt facility," Executive Chairman Jamie Cullen said in a statement.

Australian and state officials are due on site Nov. 13 for a sod-turning marking the start of major construction. Frontier forecasts first drawdown in the first quarter of 2027 and first generation in 2028.