Storage propels Neoen towards new 10GW target
A faster-than-expected expansion in large batteries has propelled France’s Neoen to Australia’s biggest clean energy player, revealing a target to triple its renewable capacity by 2030.
Neoen’s wind, solar and storage capacity across the country has reached 3.3 gigawatts, a portfolio that is the biggest in operation or construction and which has involved more than $4 billion of investment.
Neoen Australia managing director Louis de Sambucy is confident of delivering on the 2030 targets despite multiple challenges. Dominic Lorrimer
Local managing director Louis de Sambucy has set a new target of 10GW by 2030, which would involve an extra investment of at least $8 billion based on spending so far, but could be even higher given the increasing size of projects and rising costs.
“We have a massive pipeline of several gigawatts of projects which we are all very excited about,” Mr de Sambucy said.
“Our ambition is to continue to have very highly competitive solar, wind farms and batteries, combining the three technologies in every state and to leverage this multi-technology approach to be able to offer the solutions for both our energy customers and for the grid as well.”
Paris-based Neoen remains best known in Australia for its pioneering installation of the world’s first “big battery”, at the Hornsdale site in South Australia, which was triggered by a Twitter bet between tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes and Tesla’s Elon Musk in 2017.
Since then, Neoen’s storage capacity has soared from that initial 100MW plant with 129 megawatt-hours to 1.3GW with 2.8GWh of storage. The portfolio was just expanded with a 197MW, four-hour battery project in Collie, Western Australia, the French company’s first in the state.
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