Origin Energy drops plan for massive wind project in New England, citing rising costs - Renew Economy

Origin Energy has withdrawn from a planned large-scale wind project in New England, New South Wales, citing rising costs. The company had initially proposed the development as a major component of its renewable energy strategy. No timeline for restarting the project was given, and the decision reflects broader cost pressures facing renewable projects in Australia's current economic environment.

Where this fits

This is a cost story, and it exposes a pattern Energy Realism has tracked: the headline megawatt-hour price of renewables masks a rising whole-system bill. Wind and solar are cheaper per unit of output than they were five years ago, but the full cost of a reliable grid, firming plant, long-duration storage, transmission overbuild to smooth geographic variability, and the materials-intensive supply chain that now spans the Pacific, has climbed past initial forecasts. When a major utility walks away from a large project it had committed to, it signals that even the developer's own cost models no longer stack up. That pressure will cascade: smaller margins mean less investment in new capacity, which tightens supply and pushes wholesale prices higher, which then justifies more gas-fired firming.

What it means

Australia is betting its energy security on a renewables build-out that is slowing as costs rise. The firming gap will be met by gas, imported in the form of LNG or else procured through long-term contracts that lock in price risk, while a firm, low-material, locally-built alternative, nuclear, remains legally barred. Each cancelled project is a lost year. The grid's vulnerability to supply shock, and Australia's exposure to fossil-fuel price volatility, both deepen.