Neoen
| Company type | Public (until 2025), then private (majority owned by Brookfield) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Renewable energy |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Headquarters | Paris , France |
Area served | Australia, Europe, Americas |
| Products | Solar power plants, onshore wind farms, energy storage systems |
| Parent | Brookfield (majority owner since 2024) |
Neoen is a renewable energy company based in Paris, France. Established in 2008, it specializes in the development, financing, construction, and operation of solar power plants, onshore wind farms, and energy storage systems. As of 31 December 2024, Neoen's aggregate capacity stood at 8.9 GW, distributed as 46% solar, 27% wind, and 26% battery storage. The company aims to reach 10 GW of capacity either operational or under development by 2025.
The firm manages several prominent assets including the Cestas solar facility near Bordeaux, France—the largest solar park in Europe at 300 MWp upon its 2015 commissioning; Mutkalampi, Finland’s largest wind farm with a capacity of 404 MW; the Collie Battery (560 MW / 2,240 MWh), ranked among the globe’s largest battery installations; Providencia Solar (101 MWp), Central America’s largest solar project at its launch in 2017; and one of Australia’s major solar developments, the Western Downs Solar Farm.
History
Neoen was founded in 2008 and inaugurated its first power plant in France by 2009, reaching profitability by 2011. Its international footprint began expanding in 2014 with three solar projects in Portugal: Seixal, Coruche, and Cabrela. In 2015, Neoen unveiled Cestas, then Europe’s highest-capacity solar plant at 300 MWp. By 2016, it had commissioned Central America’s largest solar park (101 MWp), bringing total operational and under-construction capacity beyond the 1 GW threshold. The following year marked the launch of the Hornsdale Power Reserve (100 MW/129 MWh) in Australia—the world’s first large-scale battery—and set a goal to triple its business size by 2020.
On 16 October 2018, Neoen went public on Euronext, becoming the youngest French company in its sector to surpass a market valuation of €1 billion. That year, total installed capacity reached 2 GW. In 2019, Neoen divested its only biomass asset and expanded internationally by securing a wind power deal with Google in Finland and financing a 375-MWp solar park in Mexico at a competitive rate of US$18.93 per MWh. It also achieved ownership of assets totaling 1 GW within Australia.
In 2020, construction commenced on the Yllikkälä Power Reserve (30 MW/30 MWh) in Finland and the Victorian Big Battery (300 MW/450 MWh) in Australia. The year also saw the beginning of work on Western Downs Green Power Hub (460 MWp), Neoen’s largest solar project and Australia’s biggest utility-scale solar farm. Neoen was included that year in the SBF120, MSCI France Small Cap, and S&P Global Clean Energy indices.
April 2021 brought a €600 million capital raise to support Neoen’s ambition of achieving 10 GW by 2025; at that time, it had 4.1 GW operational or under construction across fifteen countries. By July, it reached a milestone of 1 GW renewable capacity within France. December marked the commissioning of the Victorian Big Battery—the largest battery installation in Australia and among the world’s top—and initiation of construction on the Goyder Renewables Zone (412 MW) wind farm located in South Australia.
In 2022, Neoen secured corporate Power Purchase Agreements totaling around 1 GW across Australia, Finland, France, and Sweden—including a baseload PPA with BHP for South Australia’s Olympic Dam mine. Construction started on Fox Coulée solar plant in Alberta, marking its first Canadian project; meanwhile, the Blyth Battery in South Australia expanded storage capacity past the 1 GW mark. Total capacity nearing operational or construction status approached nearly 6.6 GW.
March 2023 featured a €750 million equity increase aimed at boosting installed capacity by half and accelerating investments into energy storage. Growth continued with new wind farms and battery projects primarily across Nordic countries and Australia; Finnish capacity surpassed 700 MW following these developments. June saw commencement of Neoen’s first long-duration battery project—the Collie Battery (197 MW/4 hours)—in Australia.
By early 2024, Neoen had exceeded the threshold of 1 GW renewable energy capacity throughout the Nordic region and maintained leadership as a top recipient of CRE tenders for ground-mounted solar projects in France with awards totaling 479 MWp over two years. In June, operational or under-construction capacity in Australia surpassed the 4 GW mark.
In May 2024, global investment firm Brookfield entered exclusive negotiations to acquire a controlling interest in Neoen. On December 30th, Brookfield finalized acquisition of a majority stake amounting to 53.12% for €3.25 billion. Following an offer period from February to March 2025, Brookfield completed a squeeze-out on April 4th that resulted in Neoen being delisted from public stock exchanges.
Activities
Neoen is active in the sectors of solar energy, onshore wind power, and battery storage solutions.
In 2024, the company reported revenues of €533.1 million, distributed as 39% from solar energy (€207.7 million), 43% from wind power (€229.4 million), and 18% from storage (€95 million).
By the end of 2024, Neoen had operations spanning 14 countries across three main regions: Australia, accounting for 49% of its operational or developing capacity; Europe, representing 40%; and the Americas, contributing 11%. The total capacity either operational or under development reached 8.9 GW.
Photovoltaic
Neoen’s principal solar facilities are located in Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, El Salvador, Portugal, and Sweden.
In France, Neoen developed and manages the Cestas solar farm (300 MWp), which was Europe’s largest at its inauguration in 2015. It generates approximately 350 GWh annually—sufficient to supply electricity to around 240,000 households in Bordeaux. In El Salvador, the Providencia Solar plant (101 MWp) was Central America’s largest upon its commissioning in 2016; it was followed by the Capella Solar project (140 MWp) in 2017. Near San Antonio de los Cobres in Argentina, Neoen is advancing two solar farms each with a capacity of 100 MWp and operates the El Llano facility (375 MWp) in Mexico.
Australia hosts the Western Downs Green Power Hub (460 MWp), which began operations at the end of 2023 and can produce up to 1,080 GWh per year. The Altiplano plant (208 MWp) in Argentina benefits from enhanced solar exposure due to its high altitude. Construction started on the Fox Coulée solar project (93 MWp) in Canada in 2022; meanwhile, Portugal’s Rio Maior facility (272 MWp) stands as the country’s largest solar installation.
Neoen places particular emphasis on agrisolar initiatives in France, integrating agricultural elements into nearly half of its projects. In Sweden, work commenced on the Hultsfred solar farm (100 MWp) in October 2023 under an agreement to supply 95% of its output to H&M. Italy saw the launch of three new solar plants towards the end of 2023. Among Neoen’s major Australian assets is the Culcairn solar farm (440 MWp).
In Ireland, Neoen secured two projects totaling 170 MWp expected to be operational by 2028 and initiated construction on the Ballinknockane solar farm (79 MWp), scheduled for completion by mid-2027.
As of early 2024, Neoen remains France’s leading independent renewable energy producer. That year it entered into a power purchase agreement with SNCF to supply electricity for the Paris-Marseille high-speed train via its Le Couret agrisolar farm (139 MWp). Additionally, Neoen was awarded contracts totaling 164 MWp for ground-mounted photovoltaic projects by the French Energy Regulation Commission (CRE) in 2024 and leads PPE2 with over 2,500 MW of secured solar capacity nationwide.
By late 2024, Neoen partnered with Equinix to finalize Italy’s inaugural PPA securing 53 MW of solar energy over a decade—marking Neoen’s fifth such agreement globally.
Worldwide, Neoen approaches nearly one hundred photovoltaic plants either operating or under construction with an aggregated capacity close to 4.1 GWp as of December 2024.
Wind power
Neoen concentrates its wind power activities across five countries known for strong wind resources: Australia, France, Finland, Ireland, and Sweden. As of December 31, 2024, it operates or is developing sixty wind farms with a combined capacity of 2.4 GW.
The initial phase of Australia's Hornsdale Wind Farm was commissioned by Neoen in 2017; it consists of 99 turbines delivering a total capacity of 316 MW.
On July 3, 2020, Neoen brought online the Hedet wind farm in Finland (81 MW), which supplies renewable electricity to Google’s data centre located in Hamina.
In 2021, construction began on two Australian projects: Kaban Green Power Hub (157 MW) and Goyder South Stage wind farm (412 MW). The Bulgana Green Power Hub (194 MW wind capacity coupled with a 20 MW battery storage system) became operational in December that year.
On May 14, 2022, Neoen inaugurated France’s Madon-Moselle wind farm (39.6 MW) and launched two Nordic wind farms: Björkliden (40.4 MW) in Finland developed alongside Prokon and Storbrännkullen (57.4 MW), marking Neoen’s first Swedish facility. Additionally, Finland’s largest wind project Mutkalampi (404 MW) was commissioned by Neoen.
New wind power developments commenced in 2023 particularly within Nordic countries: Storbotet (105.4 MW) and Lumivaara (55.8 MW), with approximately 60% and 80% of their output respectively contracted to Equinix.
Energy Storage
To mitigate the challenges of renewable energy variability, Neoen develops and manages lithium-ion battery systems worldwide.
By December 2024, Neoen had established itself as a prominent leader in energy storage, with over twenty battery installations either operational or underway, delivering a combined capacity of 2.3 GW and 5.3 GWh.
In 2017, Neoen commissioned the world’s inaugural large-scale battery built by Tesla at Hornsdale Power Reserve, initially rated at 100 MW /129 MWh and later expanded to 150 MW /193.5 MWh. The Victorian Big Battery near Melbourne, also constructed with Tesla technology and rated at 300 MW /450 MWh, ranks among the globe’s largest battery projects.
Neoen introduced Finland’s largest battery installation in 2020 with Yllikkälä Power Reserve One (30 MW /30 MWh), which provides fast reserve power for the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear plant operated by Teollisuuden Voima Oyj.
In 2021, Neoen deployed Albireo Power Reserve in El Salvador—comprising two batteries totaling 14 MW /10 MWh—positioning the company as Central America’s foremost battery storage operator.
April 2022 marked the launch of Neoen’s virtual battery service, partnering with AGL Energy as the inaugural client, allowing substantial energy users to leverage battery capabilities without direct ownership. By July, Hornsdale Power Reserve became the first large-scale battery worldwide to supply inertia services extensively to the Australian electricity grid.
Construction commenced in late 2022 on Sweden’s Storen Power Reserve (52 MW /52 MWh) and two Australian projects: Blyth Battery (238 MW /477 MWh) and Western Downs Battery (270 MW /540 MWh). Blyth Battery is designed to underpin BHP’s baseload power alongside the Goyder South wind farm.
June 2023 saw the commissioning of Collie Battery (197 MW with a four-hour duration), Neoen’s inaugural long-duration storage facility, elevating Australia’s total storage capacity beyond 1.1 GW.
Expansion in the Nordic region continued through winter 2023/24, with Finland’s Yllikkälä Power Reserve Two (56.4 MW /112.9 MWh) becoming the largest battery in the Nordic countries, complemented by Sweden’s Isbillen Power Reserve (94 MW /94 MWh), its largest installation.
In Canada, Neoen secured a contract for Tara Battery—a 380 MW system with a four-hour duration aimed at enhancing Ontario’s grid stability—with total planned capacity reaching 400 MW and 1,600 MWh.
During 2024, Neoen progressed its long-duration storage portfolio with Collie Battery Phase 2 (341 MW /1,363 MWh), following a subsequent agreement with AEMO. The first stage of Collie Battery (219 MW /877 MWh), Western Australia’s largest battery asset, commenced operations ahead of schedule in Q3, delivering essential grid reliability services.
At the end of December, construction began on Arneburg Battery (45 MW /90 MWh), marking Neoen’s debut asset in Germany.
Governance
Neoen functions as an S.A.S. Corporation and is primarily owned by Brookfield. Since its inception in 2008 under Xavier Barbaro's leadership, its executive team comprises:
- Xavier Barbaro, Founder and Group CEO
- Romain Desrousseaux, Deputy CEO since 2013
- Norbert Thouvenot, Chief Operating Officer since 2021
- Olga Kharitonova, General Counsel since 2018
- Yves-Eric François, Chief Financial Officer since April 2024
- Christophe de Branche, Director of Energy Management since March 2024
- Jean-Christophe Cheylus, Regional CEO – Australia
- Guillaume Decaen, Regional CEO – France
- Louis de Sambucy, Regional CEO – Europe (Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Sweden)
- Emmanuel Pujol, Regional CEO – Americas
On April 4, 2025, Neoen became entirely owned by Brookfield.