JUST a day after it was revealed Neoen plans to build a 500MW battery in NSW, Origin has one-upped them, announcing plans to build a 700MW battery at its Eraring Power Station.

In a press release Tuesday, Origin said it had issued an Expression of Interest to suitably qualified firms to supply and install the battery and had lodged a Connection Enquiry to grid operator Transgrid to connect the battery to the grid. 

"We recognise we have an important role to play in positioning Origin's electricity generation portfolio to support Australia's rapid transition to renewables," Origin executive general manager Greg Jarvis said. 

"A large-scale battery at Eraring will help us better support renewable energy and maintain reliable supply for customers, by having long duration storage ready to dispatch into the grid at times when renewable sources are not available."

The 2.8 gigawatt Eraring power station is Australia's largest, supplying around a quarter of NSW's energy needs and is Origin's only coal-fired generator.

Origin expects the battery to be deployed over three phases, with the first phase to be operational by late 2022. The project is yet to be approved by the Origin board. 

"The deployment of this battery at Eraring will support Origin's orderly transition away from coal-fired generation by 2032, while complementing the policy objectives of the NSW energy roadmap," Jarvis said. 

The NSW roadmap, legislated late last year, calls for 2GW of energy storage to support 12GW of renewables expected to be rolled out across the state's four proposed renewable energy zones.

Origin's announcement comes a day after Neoen submitted a scoping study to the NSW government to build a 500MW battery in town Wallerawang. 

The study suggests construction on the A$400 million project could begin by 2022 and be operational by 2023. 

Historically grid-scale battery storage systems have had to be underwritten by governments in order to be competitive, however the economics around the technology are rapidly shifting as the cost of deployment falls. 

Source: Energy News Bulletin

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