Community battery rollout picks up pace in Australia

Two new community battery installations with a combined total of 980 kWh capacity, have been launched in the coastal towns of Kiama and Warriewood, in the Australian state of NSW. The systems will offer households, including rental properties and apartments without solar, a place to source renewable energy generated by local rooftop solar systems.

The Kiama Community Battery is the third and largest community battery on Endeavour’s network, offering 445 kWh of storage capacity to residents who can access clean energy stored from neighbourhood rooftop solar, for a small fee.

Endeavour General Manager Colin Crisafulli said the Kiama Downs community battery will provide both financial and sustainability wins for their customers.

“Customers with household solar are expected to see energy costs reductions of up to $270 per year, while customers without solar will see reduced energy costs of up to $180 per year, and by improving the efficiency of the network, customers across our entire region will see lower costs,” he said.

Origin Energy will provide the platform for customers to access the community battery, and will also orchestrate the energy stored in the battery, including dispatch to the wholesale market.

The Kiama battery is one of more than 50 batteries currently being rolled out as Endeavour continues to connect more renewables to the grid. Community batteries at Shell Cove on the NSW South Coast and Bungarribee in Western Sydney are now live while a further seven batteries are scheduled to be delivered to the Campbelltown, Liverpool, Shoalhaven, Wingecarribee and Wollondilly areas.

To the north of Sydney, in Warriewood, Ausgrid has powered up its fourth community battery to be deployed as part of the federal government’s $200 million Community Batteries for Household Solar program.

The launch of the 535 kWh community battery comes just days after Ausgrid unveiled a 250 kW / 535 kWh battery energy storage system in the Sydney suburb of North Epping.

In addition to the Warriewood Community Battery, Ausgrid is working with Northern Beaches Council to install a 100 kW rooftop solar system on the new Warriewood Community Centre.

Member for Mackellar Sophie Scamps said the community battery means more solar panels and electric vehicle (EV) chargers can be connected to the network without stressing the existing infrastructure.

“It also means a stronger grid and fewer solar exports, and less investment in poles and wires because the solar power that is produced is used right here, in Warriewood,” she said.

Ausgrid Group Executive Distributed Services Rob Amphlett Lewis said community batteries are visible signs of the energy transition.

“We know around 280,000 of our 1.8 million customers already have solar panels on their rooftops, with another 180,000 more expected to be installed by 2030,” he said. “With the right regulatory settings, we could deliver more than 1.2 GW of storage across our network, leading to increased electricity system security and reliability for our customers.”

This article is from pv magazine Australia