The Australian group says the two partners hope to develop, build and operate a further 700MW of wind farms in Australia by 2020, investing about A$1.6bn ($1.7bn).

Shenhua – a unit of Beijing-based Guohua Energy Investment, which is in turn part of the world’s largest coal company, state-owned Shenhua Group – has already invested in HydroTasmania’s Musselroe and Woolnorth wind farms.

The