AUSTRALIA | Coles and Origin have extended their landmark renewable electricity partnership for another three-year term.
The extended partnership aims to install 15MW of solar at 75 sites and 15MWh of battery assets, improving energy resilience, reducing emissions and supporting Australia’s transition to a lower-carbon energy system.
As part of the partnership, Coles and Origin will continue to trial an on-market backup battery system which combines wholesale energy arbitrage and peak demand management with a backup power system.
Traditionally, retailers have relied on diesel or gas generators to provide backup power to lighting, point of sale and other critical systems during outages. These systems are often idle for much of their life, can be costly to maintain and generate emissions when used.
The new on-market backup battery model offers a more sustainable alternative by reserving battery capacity for essential store operations, such as lighting and payment systems, while using remaining capacity to support electricity market participation.
Over the next 12 months, Coles plans to expand deployment of the on-market backup battery initiative across additional stores and continue refining optimisation through data analytics and Origin’s Virtual Power Plant platform.
Coles has already achieved key sustainability milestones, including sourcing 100 per cent renewable electricity and reducing combined Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by more than 75 per cent in FY25. The on-market backup battery initiative builds on this progress by targeting backup generation, one of the more challenging areas to decarbonise.
The initiative shows how large commercial energy users can align reliability, sustainability, and financial value while supporting a more resilient and renewable electricity future.
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