Origin Energy slashes value of Australia’s biggest coal-fired plant due to impact of cheap renewables

Shares tumble after company announces $1.5bn asset writedown and lower expected earnings

Origin Energy has slashed the value of its assets, including Australia's biggest coal-fired power plant, by more than $1.5bn as cheap power from renewables floods the national grid.

Company shares tumbled as much as 10% on Friday morning after Origin announced the writedown and lower expected earnings next year to the Australian Securities Exchange, before recovering slightly to be down about 7.85% about 12.45pm.