en.Wedoany.com Reported - Swedish independent power producer (IPP) OX2 has acquired the Corop solar-plus-storage project in Victoria, Australia, adding a 230MWac solar photovoltaic plant and up to 290MW/1160MWh battery energy storage system to its Australian portfolio.

Located near Rushworth and Stanhope in north-central Victoria, the project is a late-stage hybrid development that has secured key development approvals and is progressing smoothly through grid connection. Corop also holds a Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) contract from the federal government, with this government-backed revenue floor supporting project financing. The CIS contract, combined with approvals and grid connection progress, makes Corop one of the more advanced unbuilt hybrid projects in Victoria's pipeline at the time of acquisition.

Corop will become OX2's second owned-and-operated asset in Australia, following the Muswellbrook solar-plus-storage project in New South Wales. OX2 began construction on Muswellbrook earlier this year, which includes 135MWac of solar and a 100MW battery energy storage system, developed in partnership with Japanese energy company Idemitsu, financed by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), and backed by a long-term hybrid power purchase agreement (PPA) covering both solar and battery components, with an unnamed international company as offtaker. Muswellbrook construction is expected to be completed by 2028. The Corop acquisition signals OX2's intent to replicate this ownership model—building, holding, and operating its second Victorian asset rather than developing and selling it.

OX2 entered the Australian market in 2023 and has since built a portfolio of over 3GW of solar, wind, and energy storage projects across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia. Investment firm EQT completed its acquisition of OX2 in October 2024, providing additional capital for project development and construction, and supporting OX2's transition from a project-sale developer to an independent power producer that holds and operates assets. In April 2026, OX2 appointed former BayWa r.e. CEO Matthias Taft as its new global CEO, bringing deep experience in international renewable energy development. This personnel change signals OX2's intent to accelerate its developer-to-IPP transition across multiple markets, with Australia viewed as a strategically key region.

Victoria has been the center of OX2's Australian operations since its earliest projects. The company developed and subsequently sold the Horsham Solar Farm, which later became the state government-owned SEC Renewable Energy Park, while maintaining a pipeline of hybrid projects in the state. The Corop acquisition did not disclose the purchase price or financing structure, nor did OX2 confirm a construction start date or target commercial operation date. The company stated it will engage with local communities, traditional owners, stakeholders, and industry partners throughout the project's construction phase.

In other news, technology company Amazon has signed a new power purchase agreement to procure energy from the 130MW Winton North solar-plus-storage project in northeastern Victoria, developed by IPP European Energy. European Energy has now completed financial close on the 220MWh site. The Danish developer disclosed on July 2 that debt financing was provided by Commerzbank AG's Singapore branch and Société Générale. The financing supports the construction of a 130MW solar photovoltaic plant and a 100MW/220MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) on a 256-hectare site. Construction has commenced and is expected to be completed in 2026, with the project projected to generate 227GWh of clean energy annually once operational. Amazon holds the PPA for the solar generation portion and has signed an additional PPA covering the battery energy storage system, making Winton North one of the few projects in Australia where a single corporate offtaker contracts both generation and storage output under separate bilateral agreements. In October 2025, Spanish power electronics company Ingeteam signed a supply contract for the project, covering photovoltaic inverters, storage inverters, and a hybrid plant control system, including plug-and-play medium-voltage stations integrating inverters, low-to-medium voltage transformers, medium-voltage switchgear, and auxiliary service panels. Ingeteam will also provide a Multi Plant Controller system to manage the performance of solar and battery components at the grid connection point. Prior to financial close confirmation, module installation at the Winton North site had already begun, with European Energy's Australian subsidiary advancing construction work before the debt package was finalized.