When Coles is charging its batteries, it is doing it at times of abundance when the wind is blowing and the sun is shining.
Coles flagged its sustainability policy at the recent Transform conference in Sydney in March.
Among the insights it shared was that as Australia’s 12th largest electricity consumer, it has no doubt it has a big impact on our net zero transition targets, as its head of energy, Jane Mansfield, said.
With over 1800 retail outlets, a network of distribution centres and a growing manufacturing footprint for food, the supermarket holds a “unique position” as a tenant and a partner, Mansfield said.
One way the supermarket is tackling change in energy systems is through the implementation of solar systems on its roofs.
Since 2023, Coles has worked with Origin on a landmark strategic alliance that enables it to coinvest over three years in 100 solar systems on its roofs.
Now, the company has over 4 million rooftop solar installations across Australia.
Roughly one third of the systems will have batteries, and 150 of the sites have flexible load controls, which is “equivalent to a small solar farm,” Mansfield said.
The energy industry is going to lose 90 per cent of its coal generation by the next decade and all of it by 2040, Mansfield reminded the audience.
This has worked as an added incentive for the supermarket giant to collaborate on a design that allows for 25 per cent of the energy needed for the store to be powered by solar.
This requires more solar on more roofs, for both retrofits and new stores. Previously, the company would put a 100 kilowatt standard system onto the roofs, but it then had a lower solar energy capacity.
Further, across Queensland, South Australia and Victoria, the company can switch off its refrigeration in one second. Doing this for just five minutes is equivalent to switching off a third of a solar farm instantaneously, Mansfield said.
With this, the company is attempting to reduce operational impact on the grid. By generating its electricity, the store doesn’t draw on the grid.
And when the company is charging batteries, it is doing it at times of abundance when the wind is blowing and the sun is shining.
With an alliance with Origin, the company focuses on the importance of tenant-landlord collaboration.
Mansfield said that distributive energy resources and virtual power plans are necessary for Australia’s energy.
She added that resilience of building is another key aspect of the energy transition.