{"id":604215,"date":"2026-04-13T14:08:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T14:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/604215\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T14:08:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T14:08:08","slug":"zen-says-sale-talks-progressing-well-all-parties-deeply-and-strategically-aligned-on-renewables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/604215\/","title":{"rendered":"Zen says sale talks progressing well, all parties “deeply and strategically aligned” on renewables"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zen Energy, the Australian \u201cbaseload renewables\u201d gentailer led by economist and climate expert Ross Garnaut, says negotiations to sell the business are progressing well, with due diligence and strategic alignment discussions currently underway with a \u201cpreferred party.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zen last year appointed Matt Rennie from Rennie Advisory to find a buyer for the company and, over the weekend, the Australian Financial Review reported<\/a> that Swiss energy trader, Gunvor Group, had been named by anonymous sources as the other party in\u00a0\u201cexclusive negotiations.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement to Renew Economy on Monday, Zen said it was unable to confirm or deny these reports, and could not name any of the multiple parties it has been in sales talks with, other than to say that they are all \u201cstrategically aligned\u201d with Zen\u2019s mission to build, generate and retail firmed renewables.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of the parties that we are talking to are deeply and strategically aligned with Zen\u2019s purpose to create a major retail platform for the energy transition in Australia,\u201d a spokesperson told Renew Economy.<\/p>\n

The Adelaide-based energy storage specialist founded by Richard Turner started life in 2004, and is 2015 was reborn as Zen Energy <\/a>\u2013 Australia\u2019s first integrated provider of \u201csustainable power generation, storage, delivery and retailing\u201d \u2013 with Garnaut as chair.<\/p>\n

By 2017, the company\u2019s focus had shifted from providing household and community renewables solutions to rolling out a retail baseload renewable energy product<\/a> targeting commercial and industrial users, backed by large-scale solar, wind and storage.<\/p>\n

Zen has had a number of different partners in its quest, including at one time or another Santos and Sanjeev Gupta\u2019s SIMEC group of companies. By 2020, however, Zen was forging ahead on its own, with Anthony Garnaut as CEO, signing major solar and wind off-take deals<\/a> and buying up and developing its own<\/a> big batteries.<\/p>\n

In March 2025, Zen announced<\/a> a deal with Taiwanese equity partner HD Renewable Energy Co (HDRE) to co-develop around 695 megawatts (MW) of multi-hour big batteries and 100 MW of solar across three Australian states.<\/p>\n

As part of the deal, Taiwan-listed HDRE, then valued at more than $1.1 billion,\u00a0signed up<\/a>\u00a0to spend $43 million on a 9.7 per cent stake in Zen, and co-develop and manage a 1.4 gigawatt (GW) solar and storage pipeline through a joint venture dubbed Zebre.<\/p>\n

The JV\u2019s plans to build a 100 MW solar farm and a 200 MW battery with between four to eight hours storage near Gympie in Queensland were last year waved through the federal government\u2019s EPBC queue in less than a month.<\/p>\n

Separately, Zen is also developing the $3.5 billion Western Sydney Pumped Hydro Project\u00a0\u2013 proposed to deliver 1 gigawatt (GW) of energy generation capacity and up to 16 hours of storage \u2013 on WaterNSW land that once served the state\u2019s coal industry.<\/p>\n

As the AFR has reported, Zen Energy declared a $51.9 million loss in the 2023-2024 financial year, which deepened to a $133.6 million loss in the last financial year. Revenue remained steady over that time, at around $326 million, while finance costs rose from $17.2 million to $53 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cAustralian government policy uncertainty, shifts in the global geopolitical landscape, the outcome of the US presidential election and a weakening global sentiment towards voluntary emissions reduction collectively created instability across environmental commodity markets,\u201d Zen Energy said in its latest financial report.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese conditions slowed investment in storage infrastructure and led to a sharp deterioration in the value of large generation certificates, with prices falling from approximately $50 per certificate between 2022 and 2024 to $17.50 by June 2025 and well below $10 by the end of calendar year 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zen says the 2024-25 $133.6 million loss includes\u00a0pre-tax,\u00a0non-cash expenses of $129.6 million from unrealised net losses on derivative financial instruments\u00a0and\u00a0$23.6 million in\u00a0pre-tax\u00a0non-recurring finance costs from\u00a0the early settlement of the Peak Energy facility\u00a0after the divestment\u00a0of the Templers\u00a0battery energy storage system (BESS) into Zebre.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cExcluding these non-recurring and non-cash impacts, the underlying business would have been in a\u00a0significantly better\u00a0position,\u201d a company spokesperson says.<\/p>\n

If you wish to support independent media, and accurate information, please consider making a one off donation or becoming a regular supporter of Renew Economy. Please click here. Your support is invaluable<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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