Australian supermarket, Coles, has signed a landmark agreement with Origin to co-invest in renewable energy and battery assets nationally at up to 100 Coles supermarkets and liquor stores.
Over the next three years, Coles aims to install 20 megawatts of solar panels on top of 100 stores across the country, with batteries installed at one-third of the stores to capture and store excess renewable electricity generated on-site.
Coles’ rooftop solar, batteries, and energy assets, such as in-store heating, cooling and refrigeration systems, will be connected to Origin’s virtual power plant to help ease pressure on the energy grid during peak demand periods.
The alliance between Coles and Origin aims to help reduce each participating store’s electricity use from the grid by around 20 percent on average and support Coles in achieving its 100 percent renewable electricity goals by June 2025.
Solar panel installation is underway at six Victorian stores, with installation at all 100 Coles supermarkets, Vintage Cellars, Liquorland and First Choice Liquor Market stores expected to be completed by 2026.
Coles Head of Energy Jane Mansfield said this important alliance would help the retailer lower emissions, reduce electricity consumption from the grid and bring down operational costs, with 20 sites to be completed by next year.
“This alliance with Origin is an important step towards achieving our 100 percent renewable electricity target by June 2025,” said Mansfield.
“We expect to install solar panels on 100 Coles supermarkets and liquor stores over the next three years.”
Jane Mansfield, James Magill
These stores will have, on average, up to 20 percent of their electricity needs met by renewable electricity generated on-site. Not only will this investment in renewables help Coles reduce its emissions, but it will also lower operational costs and allow the retailer to meet more energy needs from its on-site solar generation.
Origin is one of Australia’s leading energy companies that aims to lead the energy transition through cleaner energy and customer solutions. Origin Zero is part of Origin that works with large businesses like Coles to help businesses meet energy needs and support t the journey to net zero with solutions like solar, batteries, energy efficiency, EVs and demand management.
Origin Zero Executive General Manager James Magill said Origin is happy to work with Coles to support its transition to cleaner and more innovative energy solutions.
“This is a landmark alliance between two of Australia’s leading retailers across supermarkets and energy which will see the companies co-invest in renewable energy and battery assets to help deliver greater emissions reductions for Coles,” said Magill.
Magill continued that this also marked Origin’s most significant customer aggregation agreement providing Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS), allowing the company to orchestrate 10MW of flexible energy use across heating, cooling and refrigeration assets at select Coles stores, which helps to support stable and safe operations of the grid.
The announcement builds on the solar panels Coles already has installed in 87 stores nationwide in Australia. Other cleaner energy initiatives by Coles to help reduce emissions include the electrification of gas assets, the trial of an electric delivery truck, and purchasing of renewable electricity from wind and solar farms around the country.
