Australia’s community battery programme is reducing household electricity bills, cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and bolstering the national grid, policymakers and analysts say.
Under the Community Batteries for Household Solar scheme, which has A$200 million (US$133 million) in state grant funding at its disposal, 400 batteries are being installed in neighbourhoods across the country. Up to 100,000 households will have access to these facilities, allowing them to store excess solar energy for use during peak times — typically in the mornings and evenings.
The programme is aimed, in part, at encouraging more households to install rooftop solar systems. It will also allow households that can’t install solar panels or their own batteries to access clean energy, and will reduce the country’s reliance on costly and polluting gas peaker plants.
While still a relatively new concept, the benefits are starting to show up.
In northern Perth, a battery resource shared by 120 households yielded collective savings of A$81,000 over a five-year period, the International Energy Agency notes in a new report. The battery also helped to ease the strain on the national power grid, as participating households saw an 85% reduction in their consumption of grid electricity during peak hours, when gas plants typically ramp up their output.
“Supporting community-based projects offers wider grid benefits,” the agency says. “Consuming electricity close to the generation source can help avoid power system losses and enhance energy efficiency, and can also provide additional grid balancing services, further improving grid resilience.”
The wider programme is starting to gain traction.
In March, the government of South Australia said it would soon install two community batteries, each with a capacity of 150 kilowatts/405 kilowatt-hours, in low-income suburbs in Adelaide.
They’ll service 600 households and will be linked to the state’s Tesla-run virtual power plant scheme, which financially rewards homes that help to strengthen the grid. Participants will lower their annual electricity bills by up to A$562, according to the local government.
“This mirrors the way individual household solar and battery systems function, but extends the benefits of these renewable energy technologies more widely — to South Australian families who need it most,” the state says.
Tom Koutsantonis, South Australia’s minister for energy and mining, says the battery roll-out is aligned with the goal to ensure “no one will be left behind in the renewable energy transition.”
“South Australians who rent or are on low or fixed incomes have fewer opportunities to control their electricity bills through the adoption of renewable energy technologies,” Koutsantonis says. “Many in this situation find upfront costs for solar panels and home batteries prohibitive, while agreements with landlords can be complex to negotiate.”
An extra benefit, according to Victoria’s minister for energy and resources, Lily D’Ambrosio, is that neighbourhood batteries will keep the lights on during power outages.
The largest battery project in Victoria’s first round of installations will have 1,750kWh of storage capacity. It will deliver financial benefits for locals through a community dividend payment, D’Ambrosio says.
So far, the programme has been mostly well received.
In a recent survey by Melbourne’s Yarra Energy Foundation, 96% of respondents said they were “supportive” of a community battery being installed in their neighbourhood.
One criticism, however, is that in most cases, network companies own the batteries — rather than the communities themselves.
