Origin Energy has brought forward plans to shut Australia's largest coal-fired power plant - Eraring Power Station. 

Origin is seeking approval to shut the Eraring facility in the NSW Hunter region by August 2025 - seven years before its previously planned retirement. 

Notice has been submitted to the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) indicating the potential early retirement of the plant. 

Eraring is the largest of Australia’s 16 remaining coal-fired power plants in the National Energy Market (NEM). Seven of those are scheduled to close by 2035, with the last planned to shut by 2051.

It has a capacity of up to 2,880 megawatts, and employs over 200 people. 

In 2021, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis and consultancy Green Energy Markets identified Eraring as the coal power plant most likely to be unprofitable by 2025.

Origin says it has “well-progressed plans” to replace the station with battery storage of up to 700 megawatts on the site.

“Origin's proposed exit from coal-fired generation reflects the continuing, rapid transition of the NEM as we move to cleaner sources of energy,” said the company's chief executive, Frank Calabria.

“The reality is the economics of coal-fired power stations are being put under increasing, unsustainable pressure by cleaner and lower cost generation, including solar, wind and batteries.”

NSW Energy Minister Matt Kean welcomed the battery but lamented the closure of the coal-powered giant. 

Mr Kean's federal counterpart, Energy Minister Angus Taylor, described the closure as “bitterly disappointing”. 

AEMO's chief executive Daniel Westerman seems comfortable with the change.

“Planned additional transmission capacity – including the announced battery — will give the state access to enough electricity generation to meet the Energy Security Target at the time Eraring closes,” he said in a statement.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union says its members were shocked by the decision, and has called on the plant’s operators to come up with guarantees for workers’ support or redeployment.

Energy experts say the gap in power left by Eraring is likely to be filled by renewable energy projects and large-scale batteries, and unlikely to dramatically affect power prices.