Coles has opened its first fully electric supermarket at Orana Village in Clyde, Melbourne, as the retailer works to reduce emissions across its store network.
Designed to operate without on-site fossil fuels, the supermarket features a 270kW rooftop solar system comprising 487 panels and a 110kW/225kWh battery energy storage system (BESS), which Coles says is the first of its kind across its stores.
The BESS acts as backup power during outages for essential services such as lighting and payment systems, while the store’s refrigeration, lighting and checkouts are fully electric.
The site also includes four electric vehicle charging bays equipped with direct-current fast chargers capable of delivering up to 200kW.
Coles head of energy Jane Mansfield said the Orana Village store lays the groundwork for the company’s next steps towards electrifying its operations.
“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.”
The opening coincides with Coles extending its partnership with Origin Energy for a further three years, to 2029.
As part of the next phase, the companies plan to install an additional 15MW of rooftop solar capacity across up to 75 stores and 15MWh of battery storage across up to 20 stores nationwide.
Origin Energy GM for enterprise and strategic customers Liam McWhirter said the renewed partnership would help expand the energy solutions already being rolled out across Coles’ store network.
“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,” McWhirter added.
- Further reading: After krill oil move, Coles urged to match Woolworths on plastics.
