Neoen begins commissioning process for 350 MW solar plant in NSW
One of Australia’s largest solar projects has been energised with developer Neoen confirming that its 350 MW Culcairn Solar Farm in the New South Wales Riverina Murray region has entered the commissioning phase.
June 16, 2025 David Carroll
Image: Neoen Australia
Share
    
The Australian arm of France-headquartered renewable energy and storage developer Neoen has announced that the 350 MW (440 MWp) Culcairn Solar Farm project built in southern New South Wales (NSW) has commenced the commissioning process.
“It is time to start supplying our first electrons from this asset into NSW’s electricity network,” Neoen Australia said in a linkedin post. “We are excited to commence the commissioning of Neoen’s second largest solar farm in Australia.”
The Culcairn solar plant, located about 40 kilometres north of Albury, comprises nearly 760,000 panels and 100,000 piles installed across more than 1,000 hectares. The project, that also includes an option for an up to 800 MWh battery energy storage system, will connect to the National Electricity Market (NEM) via an existing 330 kV transmission line that crosses the project area.
Neoen Australia says the Culcairn Solar Farm is expected to be fully operational by 2026 and is forecast to generate 822,000 MWh of clean energy per annum – sufficient to power 160,000 homes.
The project is underpinned by a four-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with independent energy retailer SmartestEnergy that has agreed to purchase 50% of the project’s capacity. SmartestEnergy said the contract will help it meet the growing demand for renewable energy solutions from commercial and industrial customers.
The PPA is complemented by a Long-Term Energy Services Agreement under the NSW government’s Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, which provides Neoen with financial certainty through a fixed minimum price.
The Culcairn Solar Farm is the second largest solar asset in Neoen’s global portfolio, edged out by the 400 MW PV project that forms part of the Western Downs Green Power Hub, that is already in operation in southwest Queensland.
Neoen, which has agreed to a majority takeover from Canadian asset manager Brookfield, is arguably Australia’s most successful solar, wind and storage developer with more than 4 GW in operation or under construction across the country.
Its operational assets include the Coleambally, Griffith, Parkes and Dubbo solar farms in NSW, along with multiple battery energy storage systems and wind farms in NSW, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia.
The company is aiming to have 10 GW of large-scale solar and wind and battery energy storage capacity in Australia by the end of the decade as part of a multi-billion-dollar forward investment plan
pv-magazine-australia.com |
