Origin cancels two solar projects due to rising costs and “unfavourable conditions”
Origin Energy has cancelled two of its potential solar projects over rising costs and “unfavourable conditions” in the market.
The two projects are the 74 MW farm at Carisbrook in central Victoria, and the 130 MW Morgans project in South Australia, which was intended to be built with an accompanying battery.
Accounts show that Origin took a $16 million write-down on the Carisbrook project, which was only purchased two years ago, in early 2022.
The report cites “increased costs”, likely referring to civil and construction works - the price of a solar module has actually fallen to record lows in recent months.
Carisbrook was cited as one of the company’s five planned solar projects as recently as June, weeks after it landed a $450 million underwriting offer from the NSW state government to keep a coal plant open for two more years.
Rising construction costs have affected all technologies and civil construction projects, and is one reason why many developers are now favouring larger projects.
The cancellation of the two projects extends a poor record for Origin in the development of large scale wind and solar.
In early 2022, the company announced that the country's biggest coal-fired generator, Eraring, would close early in 2025.
But that closure was recently pushed back at least another two years – to August, 2027 and possibly to mid 2029 – because not enough new wind, solar and storage had been built in its place.
Origin is now focused on large scale renewable energy projects, such as the 1.5 GW Yanco Delta wind project in the south-west of NSW, which may come with a small solar project and battery.