NSW can avoid electricity shortages without paying hundreds of millions to keep Eraring open, expert says

The NSW power grid should cope with the closure of Eraring thanks to federal and state moves to support renewables, Clean Energy Finance says. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

New South Wales can avoid electricity shortages without paying hundreds of millions of dollars to keep Australia’s biggest coal-fired power plant open after a spurt of renewable energy and battery approvals and weak demand growth, a new report argues.

Analysis of the 2024-30 power sector by the Clean Energy Finance director Tim Buckley found NSW will have enough capacity to cover the exit of the 2,880-megawatt Eraring station now set for closure by owner Origin Energy in August 2025.