Australia’s Origin buys 1.5GW wind, battery project

Australian upstream and utility firm Origin Energy has entered an agreement with renewables developer Virya Energy to acquire the 1.5GW wind, 800MWh battery Yanco Delta project in New South Wales (NSW).

Origin will pay up to A$300mn ($194mn) for the project, starting with an upfront payment of A$125mn and an additional payment of up to A$175mn dependent on Yanco Delta achieving some development milestones.

Yanco Delta — one of the largest and most advanced wind and energy storage projects in NSW — will allow Origin to bring a "material volume of renewable energy supply into the market relatively quickly", chief executive officer Frank Calabria said. Yanco Delta received development approval from the NSW government last December and federal approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act in February, with grid connection rights expected to be the next major milestone for the project.

"Securing transmission access rights is a key near term priority for the project, which subject to the timing of the access rights tender process, we anticipate occurring before the end of the 2024," an Origin spokesperson told Argus on 15 April. "Timing for development will ultimately be confirmed once we have all aspects of the project finalised, EPC contractors engaged, and a final investment decision is taken."

The Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) manages access rights via a competitive tender process. Virya Energy previously said it expected the final investment decision and the start of construction for 2025-26, with completion between 2027-29.

Yanco Delta will be located some 10km northwest of Jerilderie in the Riverina district, in NSW's South West Renewable Energy Zone (REZ). It could be one of the biggest renewable plants helping to replace ageing coal-fired plants in NSW, with three of the four remaining facilities in the state — Origin's 2,880MW Eraring, utility AGL's 2,640MW Bayswater and utility Delta Electricity's 1,320MW Vales Point — expected to close over the next decade. Virya Energy estimates Yanco Delta could avoid between 3.3mn-4.5mn t/yr of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Origin was the fourth largest GHG emitter in the 2022-23 fiscal year to 30 June, according to the Clean Energy Regulator (CER). The utility has been in talks with the NSW government to extend Eraring's operations beyond its planned August 2025 closure, while stepping up renewable investments in recent months. It in February acquired developer Walcha Energy, which is developing the Ruby Hills wind and Salisbury solar projects with more than 1.3GW of combined capacity.

By Juan Weik