Australian energy company, Origin, has notified the Australian Energy Market Operator of its plans to retire the Eraring coal power station in August 2025, seven years earlier than planned.
Eraring is a 2880MW black coal plant on the shores of Lake Macquarie and became operational in 1984.
According to Origin CEO Frank Calabria, the move reflects the changing nature of the national electricity market, transitioning to cleaner energy sources. Furthermore, an early closure will remove a large portion of the Origin’s Scope 1 emissions.
“Australia’s energy market today is very different to the one when Eraring was brought online in the early 1980s, and the reality is the economics of coal-fired power stations are being put under increasing, unsustainable pressure by cleaner and lower-cost generation, including solar, wind and batteries,” said Calabria.
As renewables and storage become more cost-competitive, Origin is looking to incorporate them more in combination with their peaking power stations, ultimately ensuring a more economical cost of energy.
Origin plans to invest AUS$240 million (USD$173 million) into restoration and rehabilitation of the site, a plan that includes the installation of a 700MW battery, as well as additional renewable and storage capacity, including a potential expansion of the Shoalhaven pumped hydro scheme, located on the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia.
Origin also plans to re-skill employees and offer career support and redeployment into new roles, where possible.
