Australian utility and upstream gas firm Origin Energy will continue running the 2,880MW Eraring coal-fired power station in New South Wales (NSW) state until 2029, out from 2027 previously, in the second such extension of the plant's lifetime.
Origin's decision comes after the Australian Energy Market Operator's (Aemo) Transition Plan for System Security in December 2025 found that the generator would need to be kept on line beyond its 2027 retirement date due to insufficient replacement capacity.
The plant was previously expected to close in 2025 but this was pushed back in 2024, due to insufficient replacement capacity.
Keeping Eraring on line until April 2029 will allow for development of more renewables, storage and transmission projects, Origin said in its 20 January announcement. The firm also highlighted "uncertainty regarding the reliability of Australia's aging coal and gas fleet".
Origin does not plan to invest in further major maintenance ahead of the plant's closure and will maintain its 2030 target of cutting 20mn t of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) emissions by 2030, based on 2018-19 levels.
Eraring's scope 1 emissions were 13.5mn t CO2e in the year to 30 June 2025, Origin reported. The company also holds a 27.5pc share of emissions from the 9mn t/yr Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) joint venture in Queensland state where it is the upstream operator of the project.
No more subsidies
The NSW state government's offer to underwrite Eraring's operations for two years will end in 2027 as previously announced.
Australia is attempting to transition its electricity markets to become majority renewables-based. Canberra is focusing on a goal of 82pc renewable grid penetration by 2030.
But this timeline is unlikely to be realised due to a slow build out of new transmission to connect wind and solar to the grid, many analysts said, while the 2,200MW Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project — designed to provide longer term storage capacity — has been delayed multiple times due to problems drilling new tunnels.
Victoria state, Australia's second largest by population after NSW, is also expected to miss its 2030 renewable energy goal of 65pc generation.
Queensland is meanwhile planning to continue to run its coal-fired plants into the 2040s after its state government dumped the previous administration's plans for a giant pumped hydro scheme.
Meeting Australia's 2030 emissions reduction target of 43pc below 2005 levels is contingent on the retirement of major CO2 emitters such as Eraring, according to a 2025 government report.
