Origin Energy is seeking approval to shut Australia’s largest coal-fired power plant seven years early, with the Eraring facility in the NSW Hunter region now set to close by August 2025.
submitted to the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) indicating the potential early retirement of the plant after the required three-and-a-half-year notice period.
Eraring is the biggest of 16 remaining coal-fired power plants supplying the National Energy Market (NEM), with seven of those already scheduled to close by 2035 and the last planned to shut by 2051.
While electricity generated from coal still supplies 60 per cent of power in the National Energy Market, that is down from 87 per cent when records began in 2006.
Eraring is Origin’s only coal-fired power station, meaning that the company will generate power from a combination of renewables and gas.
‘Biggest battery in Southern Hemisphere’
In its place, the company said it has “well-progressed plans” for battery storage of up to 700 megawatts on the site.
“Origin’s proposed exit from coal-fired generation reflects the continuing, rapid transition of the NEM as we move to cleaner sources of energy,” said the company’s chief executive, Frank Calabria.
Read More: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-17/origin-to-shut-eraring-power-station-early/100838474
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