Australian company Origin Energy has reached a received planning approval a 700MW battery at Eraring Power Station in the state of New South Wales (NSW).
The project will have a dispatch duration of four hours, making it Australia’s largest battery project to achieve planning approval to date.
Origin head of energy supply and operations Greg Jarvis said: “We are pleased to receive planning approval, marking a significant milestone in our journey to installing a large-scale battery at Eraring.
“Our proposed battery forms part of our plans to replace Eraring’s capacity and maintain reliable energy supply to customers, as we plan for the potential accelerated closure of the coal-fired power station in August 2025.
“We would like to acknowledge the NSW DPE for its timely assessment, which recognised the importance of this project to the reliability of energy supply in the NSW in the future.
“Eraring Power Station is well suited to battery storage and potentially other energy infrastructure over time, as there is extensive electricity connection infrastructure already in place nearby.”
Origin will now focus on finalising vendor and constructor negotiations and transmissions connection agreements so the project can progress towards a final investment decision, Jarvis added.
On 17 February, Origin submitted notice to the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) indicating the potential early retirement of the Eraring coal-fired power station at the end of the required three and half year notice period.
Eraring is Australia’s largest power station supplying around a quarter of NSW’s energy needs and is Origin’s only coal-fired generator.