Clean Energy Finance Corp funds Australian mid‑scale solar‑plus‑storage projects

The Clean Energy Finance Corp (CEFC) announced a AU$100 million financing program for up to 16 hybrid solar, battery and battery‑retrofit projects that will connect to distribution networks rather than the high‑voltage transmission grid. The initiative, called the Distribution Connected Accelerator Program (DCAP), is being delivered with infrastructure debt manager Infradebt and will provide concessional senior debt for projects up to 5 MW, with the aim of having construction ready by 2027. CEFC’s renewables chief Monique Miller said the programme targets the “missing middle” of Australia’s clean‑energy transition, helping smaller projects overcome size‑related transaction costs and speed their market entry. Infradebt CEO Alexander Austin highlighted the commercial advantage of faster connection to existing network capacity.

The DCAP builds on a previous AU$150 million CEFC commitment to Infradebt and is part of a broader expansion of CEFC’s financing activities, aiming to unlock latent capacity in distribution networks and support a more resilient energy system.