European Energy signs 30-year First Nations agreements for three Australian solar projects

They were signed with the FNBGGGTB Group, which represents the Bailai, Gurang, Gooreng Gooreng and Taribelang Bunda peoples.

The four groups are the Traditional Owners and native title holders of the Bundaberg and Gladstone regions, where the Bullyard, Upper Calliope and Tyrone projects are located.

Two sets of agreements are involved. Cultural Heritage Management Agreements set out how culturally important sites and artefacts will be identified and protected as the projects are developed.

Shared Prosperity Agreements provide long-term funding for social, cultural and environmental initiatives chosen by the Traditional Owners.

European Energy has not disclosed the value of the Shared Prosperity funding or how it will be calculated.

The deals build on an exclusivity agreement signed in 2024, which created a framework for investigating potential development sites.

“Developing renewable energy projects requires long-term cooperation with the communities and landholders involved,” said Catriona McLeod, managing director of European Energy Australia.

Matthew Cooke, group chief executive of FNBGGGTB Group, said the two parties had worked together for “three or four years” and that “the renewables transition offers exciting opportunities for First Nations people”.

Gigawatt-scale solar near Gladstone

Upper Calliope is the largest of the three projects. In December 2025, European Energy secured planning approval for the 1.1GW plant, which sits about 50km south-west of Gladstone.

Its output is contracted to Rio Tinto under a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA), with the mining group using the power for its aluminium smelter and alumina refineries in the region. European Energy is also developing a co-located 4-hour duration battery storage system at the site, which still requires approval from the state government.

Bullyard, at Bucca near Bundaberg, combines up to 97MWac of solar PV and battery storage, according to the project website.

Bundaberg Regional Council approved its solar component in November 2024, and the project has since been selected under the federal government’s Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS).

Bullyard is also among the solar projects named in a set of PPAs through which Amazon is sourcing power for its Australian data centre expansion.

Tyrone, a proposed solar PV plant of about 400MW near Gladstone, is in its early stages and has not yet received development approval. European Energy has not published a battery storage capacity for Tyrone.

The agreements come as the federal government places greater weight on First Nations participation in renewable energy development. In July, it reserved 500MW of capacity in CIS Tender 9 for generation projects that commit at least 5% equity participation or revenue sharing to First Nations partners, alongside a 2GWh allocation for battery storage in Tender 10.

Earlier rounds treated First Nations outcomes as merit criteria rather than reserved capacity. In Tender 7, community benefit commitments including First Nations outcomes totalled close to AU$1.2 billion (US$830 million) across 19 projects.

European Energy’s Australian business is moving from development into operation. The company commissioned its first Australian solar PV plant, the 58MW Mokoan project in Victoria, in 2025, and has since completed module installation at the 131MW Winton North solar PV plant in the same state.

The company has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation covering workforce and Indigenous business engagement for future projects on Yorta Yorta land in Victoria.