Origin Energy is continuing its transformation towards the renewable energy sector, with chief executive Grant King saying the company wants to be Australia’s number one solar panel provider.
Mr King described Origin’s said the company wanted to be an energy service provider, not just a product supplier.
He told an investor briefing in Melbourne that Origin sees opportunity in the continued growth of solar take-up, including among small and medium enterprises.
Origin has begun a trial of a Samsung 3.6kW hour battery for homes.
Mr King said the current generation of batteries would not prompt masses of people to move off the grid as they only covered about three hours of household electricity consumption.
“Some people will engage in this new technology but I think it will be quite some time, well into the 2020s, before it makes a material difference,” he said.
Mr King also weighed into the argument between the coal and gas industries, saying the economics of cleaning up coal for power generation do not add up and gas should be used as a substitution
