Sept 23 (Reuters) - Australia's Genex Power Ltd GNX.AX said on Wednesday it no longer expected to finalise funding arrangements for its flagship pumped-hydro project by the end of September, as it continues to negotiate with project partners.
Genex shares fell as much as 4.8% after the announcement compared to a 1.4% gain in the broader Ausralian market. .AXJO
The Sydney-based firm also said it was in final stages of concluding talks with a "preferred equity partner" to buy up to a 50% stake in the Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project, without naming the investor.
Genex had been trying to line up EnergyAustralia, a unit of Hong Kong's CLP Holdings 0002.HK , to take a 50% stake in the 250-megawatt project over nearly two years. March this year, the company finalised an agreement with Australia's third-largest energy retailer, EnergyAustralia, to buy power from the project being built at an abandoned gold mine in the state of Queensland. hydro acts like a giant battery, pumping water uphill when energy is abundant and releasing it to create power at night or on a windless day.
The company added that the government's Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility has extended its offer of funding to Jan. 31, 2021 and that the Queensland government reaffirmed its commitment of A$132 million ($94.59 million) in funding for project transmission infrastructure.
($1 = 1.3955 Australian dollars)