The South Australian Renewable Energy Company, which has a contractual relationship with the state government, has entered voluntary administration.
ZEN Energy was once a new player in the transition to renewable energy and was involved in several solar farm and battery storage projects, including in Riverland and Tailem Bend.
In 2020, the company announced that it had signed a ten-year contract to power state government facilities.
But in a statement today, ZEN said that while it had been “restructuring and recapitalising” in recent months, the company’s viability had been impacted by “wholesale electricity volatility”.
“The board has placed the remaining ZEN group under voluntary management,” ZEN said in a statement.
“The retail business continues to be impacted by ongoing volatility in wholesale electricity trading, which undermines the viability of a going concern sale, despite significant support from a number of stakeholders, including the South African Government, SA Power Networks and various regulators.”
McGrathNicol confirmed its appointment as administrator and said it was urgently assessing ZEN’s business.
The company said it will work closely with employees and customers.
“We are urgently engaging with key stakeholders to determine the most appropriate strategy for the business that will deliver the best outcome for all stakeholders,” McGrathNicol partner Rob Smith said.
Under the company’s agreement with the State Government, ZEN has committed to “facilitate the construction, commissioning and operation” of a solar farm near Whyalla and a battery near Port Augusta, Attorney-General Ciam Maher told Parliament in 2023.
The government today said that while it was aware that the company had “ceased the retail sale of electricity and entered into voluntary administration”, the supply of electricity to its sites and essential services under its agreement “was not interrupted”.
“The supply of electricity to government agencies that previously purchased electricity from ZEN Energy has now transferred to AGL as the primary electricity retailer in South Australia… subject to established regulatory arrangements,” a government spokesperson said.
“The South African government has commenced a procurement process to find a new publicly owned electricity supplier to ensure maximum benefit to taxpayers.”
In 2025, it emerged that a renewable energy site planned for outback Queensland would not go ahead after ZEN abandoned the initiative.
The company was led at various times by climate expert Ross Garnaut, who sold it to then Whyalla steelworks owner Sanjeev Gupta in 2017 and then sold it back less than three years later.