Neoen SA, a French renewables company, has signed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for a 215-MW component of its 330-MW Mount Hopeful wind farm in Australia’s central Queensland. In order to be able to provide renewable energy to its commercial and industrial customers, Stanwell Corp., a company owned by the Queensland government, has agreed to a deal whereby it will purchase 65 per cent of the wind farm’s generation. The wind power plant’s construction is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2023, with first power being anticipated in 2026.
According to the statement, Neoen and Stanwell are researching potential renewable energy projects in Queensland. With approximately 2.5 GW operational or under construction, including 817 MW in Queensland, Neoen claims to be Australia’s largest renewable energy company. This is Neoen’s first PPA with Stanwell, and Mount Hopeful is its third project in the state. In December 2022, Stanwell announced that Queensland’s largest green hydrogen project, the CQ-H2 scheme, had finished its feasibility study and was preparing to start a Front End Engineering Design (FEED) study in early 2023. Together with Iwatani Corp, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd, Kansai Electric Power Company, Marubeni, and APA Group, Stanwell is developing the project.
In December 2022, Neoen was awarded 180 MW of solar and wind power capacity in the French government’s technology-neutral call for tenders. The auction process was supervised by France’s energy regulation commission, CRE. As per the company’s statement, Neon was awarded the most capacity in the auction process, with the 180 MW being split between 11 projects with capacities ranging from 12 MW to 22.8 MW.
