Origin Energy’s decision to extend the life of the Eraring coal-fired power station until 2029 underscores the urgency of accelerating investment in renewable energy, storage and transmission, according to the Clean Energy Council.
Jackie Trad, Chief Executive Officer at the Clean Energy Council, publicly shared that the extension reflects the need to manage the transition in an orderly way, but warns Australia’s ageing coal fleet is increasingly unreliable and costly, with unplanned outages driving price volatility across the National Electricity Market.
The average age of coal generators is now 38 years, close to the historical retirement age of 44. Recent failures, including another outage at Queensland’s Callide C, have again highlighted the risks of continued reliance on ageing assets.
In the 12 months to October 2025, an average 24 per cent of coal-fired generation was unavailable in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland, contributing to wholesale price spikes. In one month alone, prices in NSW surged from around $70/megawatt-hours (MWh) to $220/MWh following a wave of unplanned outages.
The Clean Energy Council shares that every new renewable, storage and transmission project reduces exposure to this volatility. It also welcomed Origin’s continued investment in large-scale batteries at Eraring, noting storage is already playing a growing role in supporting system reliability as coal exits the grid.
Momentum in energy storage continues to build, with nearly 1.2 gigawatts of new projects reaching financial close in the most recent quarter.
For more information, visit the Clean Energy Council website.