Origin expands size of Eraring battery to make it largest in southern hemisphere
Origin Energy has committed to a third expansion of the battery at its Eraring coal power station, which once finished will be one of the world’s largest.
Origin Energy has approved an expansion of its soon-to-completed battery at the Eraring coal power station, which once completed will have the largest dispatchable capacity in the southern hemisphere.
The expansion, the third such enlargement Origin has committed to, will take the project to 700 MW/2800 MWh with a dispatchable duration of around four hours.
Origin’s head of energy supply and operations Greg Jarvis said the expansion illustrates the commitment of the company to play a leading role in the energy transition.
“Construction of the third stage of the Eraring battery further increases our energy storage footprint and represents another significant step in our ambition to lead the energy transition through cleaner energy and customer solutions,” he said.
Stage three is anticipated to come online alongside Stage one at the end of 2025.
Stage two is anticipated to come online in the first quarter of 2027.
The extension is a boost to Australia’s energy transition, albeit it comes amid a flurry of new batteries as developers respond to market signals.
Australia’s energy market is expected to see a wave of new renewable energy generation hit the market, but the industry is increasingly alarmed by what will power the grid when conditions are unfavourable.
Batteries offer a solution. When electricity is ample, the systems can charge before dispatching when the sun has set or wind generation wanes.
Batteries are increasingly profitable as Australia’s energy grid is categorised by periods of price volatility. Australia has the world’s largest proliferation of rooftop solar, which means wholesale electricity prices can often tumble when the sun is shining. But when the sun has set and demand rises prices often jump.
An increase in batteries can mitigate some of the price surge — which eventually flows through to households and businesses — but, the impact is often temporary.
Most batteries under construction across Australia have a capacity of between two and four hours, and energy industry executives have warned the increasing dependency on renewables will see the country susceptible to periods known as renewable energy droughts.
Prolonged periods of overcast clouds and low wind can be consequential. The Australian Energy Market Operator in October said wholesale electricity prices across the National Electricity Market during the three months ended September 30 rose 88 per cent from the same period one year earlier.
Much of the increase was driven by depressed renewable energy outputs, which meant demand for fossil fuel generation increased.
Wholesale electricity prices are not immediately felt by households and businesses, but the rise will be reflected in the next annual tariff reset early next year, though the impact will be curtailed by weaker wholesale prices throughout 2024.
While the surge in winter wholesale prices may not lead to an increase in household bills, it threatens to mute any downward revisions, which would be a disappointment to policymakers who have been desperate for substantial falls in electricity prices in order to ease pressure on households amid a cost of living crisis.
Industry executives have urged action to increase gas usage. Gas power generation can run for days and then be switched off, but the fuel source is vehemently opposed by environmentalists and unpredictable usage means developers cannot justify the risk of millions of dollars in investment.
To reduce the risk, the industry has urged the establishment of a capacity scheme, which would pay developers to be ready to dispatch in case there was the need. But states, most notably Victoria, opposed the scheme.
Breaking cover and stoking hopes within the industry others might follow suit, South Australia on Wednesday proposed a scheme which if adopted would be the first across the National Electricity Market.
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