At a glance
- The deal folds project-level debt on Brendale, Orana, Ulinda Park and Elaine into a single portfolio facility, according to ESG Today's Oct. 26 report.
- For allocators holding storage through infrastructure debt funds, the collateral unit changed: debt across four assets, three operating and one still building, now sits behind one structure.
- Eleven commercial banks make up the consortium: ANZ, BNP Paribas, Bank of China, CIBC, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Deutsche Bank, DNB, ING, Mizuho, MUFG and Rabobank.
Akaysha Energy, the Melbourne battery developer that BlackRock's climate infrastructure unit bought in 2022, secured A$1.75 billion (US$1.23 billion) of bank debt to refinance four Australian storage projects.
The deal folds project-level debt on Brendale, Orana, Ulinda Park and Elaine into a single portfolio facility, according to ESG Today's Oct. 26 report. It splits into three tranches of five, seven and 10 years, with revolving liquidity and contingent instrument facilities alongside. Ulinda Park, Brendale and Orana are operating. Elaine began construction in October 2025 and is due to finish in the second half of 2027.
For allocators holding storage through infrastructure debt funds, the collateral unit changed: debt across four assets, three operating and one still building, now sits behind one structure. The margin and the recourse terms do not appear in the coverage, and without them the facility cannot be compared with storage debt already in a portfolio. Lending against the portfolio also leaves the bank group carrying Elaine's construction risk alongside revenue from three operating batteries.
Eleven commercial banks make up the consortium: ANZ, BNP Paribas, Bank of China, CIBC, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Deutsche Bank, DNB, ING, Mizuho, MUFG and Rabobank. No development bank or export credit agency appears in ESG Today's list, which leaves the construction-stage exposure with commercial lenders. The Gennaker offshore wind financing in September drew sixteen commercial lenders, but only with the EIB in the syndicate.
Akaysha puts its Australian development pipeline at about 6 GW / 25 GWh of battery projects across the National Electricity Market and says the portfolio facility gives it room to accelerate the next wave.
The Squadron deal in August used the same structure, where portfolio-level debt let a developer add storage without a new financing round. For Akaysha the effect is that four projects share one set of terms and a maturity ladder running to 10 years.
ESG Today's account describes no green or sustainability-linked label on the facility.
| Projects | Status | Debt treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Ulinda Park, Brendale, Orana | Operating | Consolidated into portfolio facility |
| Elaine | Construction began Oct. 2025; completion due H2 2027 | Consolidated into portfolio facility |
Reported by the Transition Finance desk from ESG Today. Published . Corrections