Neoen Secures AU$1.8 Billion for Australian Renewables Portfolio

Neoen has secured AU$1.8 billion (US$1.26 billion) in debt financing from 13 lenders for an Australian renewables portfolio of 1.2 GW. The financing covers five operating and under-construction projects in New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia, including the 440MWp Culcairn solar photovoltaic (PV) plant.

The company described the package as its largest financing to date, saying it would strengthen its balance sheet and support investment in new projects. The Australian renewables portfolio includes solar generation, wind power and battery energy storage assets, combining operational facilities with projects still under development.

The lenders are ANZ, Bank of America, Bank of China, Export Development Canada, HSBC, ING, KfW IPEX, Mizuho, NAB, UOB, Société Générale, Westpac and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), the Australian federal government’s green investment bank.

Neoen has not disclosed the loan tenors, interest rates or how the debt will be allocated across the five assets.

“This transaction reflects the quality and diversity of our assets and demonstrates our ability to optimise our financing structure and strengthen our balance sheet,” said Xavier Barbaro, Neoen’s group CEO.

“We value the continued support of our long-term partners, and we welcome the arrival of new lenders,” said Jean-Christophe Cheylus, Neoen’s regional CEO for Australia Pacific. The company did not identify which lenders were new to its Australian financings.

Five Renewable Energy Assets Across Three States

Culcairn, located in the Murray region of New South Wales, is Neoen’s second-largest solar asset globally. It became fully operational in May 2026, less than two years after construction began. The facility has approximately 760,000 solar modules and connects to the National Electricity Market (NEM) through an on-site 330kV transmission line.

The solar plant cost approximately AU$636 million to develop. Energy retailer SmartestEnergy Australia has a four-year power purchase agreement (PPA) covering half of its electricity output.

Neoen has also started construction of the 215MW/963MWh battery storage system at the same site, using the solar plant’s grid connection. NHOA Energy is the system integrator, with commercial operations targeted for 2028. The battery project has a Long-Term Energy Service Agreement (LTESA) under the New South Wales Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, providing revenue top-up payments when wholesale electricity prices fall below an agreed floor.

In South Australia, the portfolio includes the 150MW/193.5MWh Hornsdale Power Reserve and the 209MW Goyder South Stage 1A wind generation plant. Hornsdale began operating in late 2017 and was expanded by 50MW to reach its current 150MW capacity in 2020. Goyder South Stage 1A represents the first 209MW of the 412MW first stage of Neoen’s Goyder South wind generation development near Burra.

The fifth asset is the 179MW Narrogin wind generation project in Western Australia. The project secured a Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) contract in May 2026, with its capacity listed at 168MW at the point of connection. Construction began in July 2026 using 23 Envision turbines. Western Australia’s state-owned electricity retailer Synergy has signed a PPA for all of the project’s output.

Neoen Expands Australian Renewable Energy Financing

The latest transaction adds to Neoen’s financing activity in Australia. The company said it has raised more than AU$5 billion in debt since 2024, covering 4.7GW across 20 Australian assets. This includes an AU$1.1 billion financing package secured in February 2024 for a 1.5GW portfolio of solar, wind and battery storage projects, part of which was used to refinance existing asset-level debt.

Neoen reports more than 6GW of capacity contributed in Australia and is targeting 10GW in the country by 2030. Its largest Australian solar asset is the 460MWp Western Downs Green Power Hub in Queensland. Neoen selected Nextracker’s single-axis trackers for the project in 2020, with Sterling and Wilson appointed as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor.

The company’s ownership structure also changed in recent years. Brookfield agreed to acquire the French independent power producer in May 2024 in a transaction valued at €6.1 billion (US$6.81 billion) and became its sole shareholder in April 2025. To secure competition approval in Australia, Neoen sold its Victorian assets, including the Victorian Big Battery and Bulgana wind generation plant, to HMC Capital in August 2025.