Coles and Origin have marked a major milestone in their landmark renewable energy partnership, with the opening of Coles’ first fully electric supermarket in Melbourne’s south-east at Orana Village in Clyde, Victoria.
The new supermarket brings together rooftop solar, backup battery storage, electric heat pumps for heating, and EV fast charging, eliminating reliance on on-site fossil fuels.
The store features a 270kW rooftop solar system comprising 487 panels and a 110kW/225kWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), the first of its kind in Coles’ store fleet. Capable of supplying backup power, the BESS will also help manage the supermarket’s peak demand once fully commissioned.
The system provides an alternative to a gas or diesel generator, reserving battery capacity for essential store operations, such as lighting and payment systems. Together with the rooftop solar system, the store is designed to reduce its reliance on grid-supplied electricity.
The store’s new electric heating system works alongside a natural CO₂ refrigeration system, recovering waste heat from refrigeration and combining it with electric heat pumps to provide 171kW of heating across the store, replacing the need for natural gas heating.
Energy-efficient LED lighting is also used throughout the store, to help reduce electricity consumption, while providing brighter and more consistent lighting for shoppers.
Customers will also be able to fast charge their EV while they shop at Orana Village, with up to 200kW direct current fast charging stations across four parking bays, delivered through Coles’ partnership with Evie Networks.
It marks the first time Coles has incorporated fast EV charging into a new store development, with the charging station integrated with the store’s BESS to manage peak electricity demand.
The milestone comes as Coles and Origin extend their partnership for a further three years to 2029, building on the work delivered through the first phase of the project which first launched in 2023.
Under the next phase, Coles and Origin expect to deliver an additional 15MW of rooftop solar capacity across up to 75 stores nationwide and 15MWh of battery energy storage across up to 20 stores, supporting greater onsite renewable electricity generation and energy resilience across the Coles store network.
Over the course of the three-year partnership, Coles and Origin have delivered solar installations across 73 stores and distribution centres, representing 16.45MW of rooftop solar capacity, alongside 1.35MWh of battery energy storage across five stores.
Participating sites are expected to reduce their annual grid electricity consumption by an average of almost 20 per cent.
Jane Mansfield, head of energy at Coles, said Orana Village was an important milestone in Coles’ efforts to electrify its store operations and continue supporting its net zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions commitment.
“Orana Village is an important step forward in how we design and power our stores,” she said.
“As our first fully electric supermarket in Australia, it represents the next generation of a Coles store and through our partnership with Origin, gives us a blueprint for what a lower emissions and more resilient store network could look like.
“For our customers, this store means a more convenient way to fast charge their EV while they shop, with the store’s solar and battery system helping reduce pressure on the grid and support our operations by powering everything from our refrigeration to lights and our checkouts.”
According to Liam McWhirter, general manager for Enterprise and Strategic Customers at Origin, the renewed partnership would build on Origin’s work to develop energy solutions tailored to Coles’ operations.
“Over the past three years, we’ve worked with Coles to combine solar, battery storage and smarter energy management in ways that respond to the needs of its store network,” he added.
“Orana Village brings many of these technologies together to manage energy costs and reduce emissions and we’re excited to extend our partnership with Coles to continue scaling the solutions that are working.”
Beyond deploying solar and battery assets, Coles and Origin have also co-developed a new energy solution tailored to Coles’ operations.
This includes the On-Market Backup BESS model designed to provide stores with backup power, while allowing available battery capacity to participate in energy markets through Origin’s Virtual Power Plant.
“The On-Market Backup BESS is a great example of innovation, providing stores with resilient back-up power while enabling available battery capacity to manage supermarket peak demand and participate in the wholesale electricity market,” McWhirter explained.
The partnership forms part of Coles’ broader efforts to reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency across its operations.
Coles sources 100 per cent renewable electricity for its national operations, including more than 1800 retail outlets and distribution centres, and reduced its combined Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 82.6 per cent by the end of FY26, relative to the FY20 baseline.
