Origin Energy has dropped plans to develop the proposed 870-megawatt Skye Ridge Wind Farm project in NSW , blaming a “significant increase” in the costs of building new wind generation.
The company said it would instead concentrate capital and other resources to develop its Northern Tablelands Wind Farm, also in NSW’s New England region.
“The [Skye Ridge] decision reflects the significant increase in the cost of building new wind generation, which reduces the case for progressing two projects in the same region in parallel,” Origin said in a statement provided to Renew Economy.
The Skye Ridge Wind Farm was proposed around 10km west of Walcha. The town, which is slated to have a major transmission line built nearby, is likely to play host to Vestas’s $2.5 billion Winterbourne wind farm.
Origin bought Skye Ridge in February 2024 from renewable developer Walcha Energy. The company had been working to “complete the technical studies required for a scoping report which will inform a future Environmental Impact Statement”, the company stated on its website.
According a report in the AFR that cited a letter Origin had sent to landholders, the cost of building new wind was “roughly 50 per cent higher than it was in 2020”. The cost increase had “changed the relative economics of progressing two wind projects in the same region at the same time”.
Origin will focus its capital and development resources on the Northern Tablelands Wind Farm development, which has the strongest prospect of timely delivery. It is also developing the proposed 1.45 gigawatt Yanco Delta wind project in the south-west of NSW, although it is reportedly seeking a buyer for that project.
Renew Economy has reported that the Northern Tablelands may host 76 wind turbines – each 300-metres high – with a total capacity of 638 megawatts (MW), accompanied by an 800 MW, 1,000 MWh big battery.
“We will keep progressing our Northern Tablelands wind development project and continue our community investment program,” it said.
Origin completed the purchase of the 7586-hectare “Warrane” property that will play host to that project in July 2023. It also hired retiring National Party state member for the New South Wales Northern Tablelands, Adam Marshall, as its new senior government relations manager to help on the project.
“Situated within the New England Renewable Energy Zone, the Northern Tablelands Wind Farm has a high-quality wind resource and range of grid connection options which make it an attractive prospective wind development,” the company says on its website.
Origin said it had completed the installation of two wind monitoring masts in May 2024 for the proposed wind farm and had also “commenced comprehensive environmental assessments across the property”.
Securing financial close for wind farms in New England has proved to be difficult, with Squadron Energy yanking plans for its proposed 426MW Boorolong Wind Farm northwest of Armidale in July.
Origin Energy in 2022 flagged the potential early closure of the 2.8 GW Eraring coal generator, scheduling it for a 2025 shutdown. But its closure has since been delayed twice, first to 2027 and then to 2029. Origin Energy has not built any new wind or solar projects since it flagged its intention to exit coal.
