Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights
- Origin Energy (ORG) commits to investing around $600 million into the construction of a large-scale battery at the Eraring Power Station in New South Wales
- Agreements regarding the supply and construction have been finalised, with work to commence in the coming weeks
- Origin CEO Frank Calabria says the approval of its investment marks an “important milestone” for the giant and another step in its strategy to lead the energy transition
- The 460-megawatt battery storage system has a dispatch duration of two hours and is expected to come online in 2025
- Shares in ORG are up 0.3 per cent and trading at $8.30 at 12:27 pm AEST
Origin Energy (ORG) has committed to an investment of around $600 million to construct a large-scale battery at the Eraring Power Station in New South Wales.
The energy giant said agreements had been finalised regarding the supply and construction of the battery, with work to commence in the coming weeks.
Stage one of the battery construction will include work on a 460-megawatt battery storage system with a dispatch duration of two hours, expected to come online in 2025.
In the future, Origin has the option to increase the battery to 700 megawatts and four hours of dispatch duration.
Origin CEO Frank Calabria said the final investment decision marked an “important milestone” for the giant.
“Approval of the Eraring battery is an important milestone for Origin and another significant step in our strategy to lead the energy transition and accelerate renewable energy and storage in our portfolio,” Mr Calabria said.
“We are pleased to make this significant capital investment in Origin’s first major battery
project to support the growth in renewable energy that’s occurring across the NEM, together with the expansion of our own portfolio of renewable energy developments.”
Origin Head of Energy Supply and Operations Greg Jarvis said the Eraring site was the right fit for the construction of the large-scale battery.
“Eraring is a strategic site with high-quality connection infrastructure enabling us to deliver energy into major demand centres,” Mr Jarvis said.
“Development of the Eraring battery is a key next step as we look to transform the
Eraring site for the future, given our intention to exit coal-fired generation by as early as
August 2025.”
The battery project received initial planning approval from the NSW Department of Planning and Environment in May 2022.
Equipment for the battery project will be supplied by Finnish technology group Wartsila, while construction services will be carried out by Enerven.
Shares in ORG are up 0.3 per cent and trading at $8.30 at 12:27 pm AEST.
