European Energy extends its reach in Australia with purchase of two shovel-ready solar farms

Denmark-based European Energy, which this year signed a contract to build what will be the biggest solar project on Australia’s main grid, has added two shovel-ready solar projects to its development pipeline in Victoria and New South Wales.

European Energy Australia (EEA) said on Wednesday that it is now the proud owner of the 106 megawatt (MW) Lancaster solar project in Victoria and the 31 MW Mulwala solar project in NSW.

The two projects are due to start construction next year and be operational in 2026, says EEA country manager Catriona McLeod.

“These projects are part of European Energy’s growing pipeline in Australia, which now exceeds 5 GW in development,” she wrote in a LinkedIn post. 

The two projects are small fry compared to the huge 1.3GW Upper Calliope solar project EEA is working up near Gladstone in Queensland, and the 1GW Sawpit solar project and 500 MW Leichardt project in Biloela also in Queensland. All of these are still under development. 

EEA bought the solar farms from OX2, which bought them as part of a package deal from Shell in 2023 when the oil company began divesting some of the assets it snapped up in more renewables-forward times. 

Shell sold its stake in solar farm developer Esco Pacific – it bought 49 per cent of the company in 2019 – to the Swedish OX2 in April last year for $126 million.

Another OX2 sale last week, of the 119 MW Horsham solar project in Victoria, means the Swedish developer is left with 11 projects in its Australia portfolio. 

European Energy, meanwhile, reached financial close for its first solar project in Australia in March, after securing project finance debt from Nord/LB’s Singapore branch for the 56 MW Mokoan solar farm, which is being built on grazing land near Winton in Victoria.

The Mokoan solar farm has already begun construction and is expected to be complete next year.