SYDNEY, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Australia's second largest energy retailer AGL Energy Ltd AGL.AX has sold its stake in the country's biggest wind farm for A$532 million ($368.4 million) to New Zealand investment firm HRL Morrison & Co Ltd, the company said on Monday.
The sale marked the first step in Sydney-based AGL's programme to sell A$1 billion worth of assets by 2017, as the company tries to free up cash to further invest in renewable energy to meet government targets as well as a growing demand for such energy from customers.
In a statement, AGL said it had sold its 50 percent stake in the Macarthur Wind Farm in the state of Victoria for the asset's carrying value. The company will continue to run the wind farm and receive renewable energy rebates from the government accordingly, it added.
Under CEO Andrew Vesey, AGL has been trying to adapt to a market increasingly reliant on renewable energy. Last month, the company booked a 62 percent slump in annual net profit as it wrote down the value of its gas production assets.
AGL has committed to sell energy from 100 percent renewable sources by 2050. ($1 = 1.4440 Australian dollars)