What is a community battery?
A community battery is an energy storage system installed in a central location within the community – like a park, or an energy substation, or even on a power pole. It works like a big rechargeable battery, storing excess electricity including power generated from renewable sources during the day, such as solar panels, that is then shared by multiple households or businesses within a community.
When there’s surplus renewable energy available, the battery stores it. Then, during periods of peak energy demand or when renewable sources aren’t producing, this energy can be supplied to the community. It’s like a collective energy bank, that benefits everyone involved!
Why do we need community batteries?
The high uptake of rooftop solar – more than 3.5 million Aussie homes now have solar panels – has seen households generate large amounts of energy during the day. But, that’s also created a new challenge. The excess solar creates congestion on the transmission network – a bit like when there’s too many cars causing a traffic jam, slowing down your arrival at a destination. It’s the same when there’s too much solar in the electricity grid.
A community battery puts this excess energy to good use, storing excess solar generated by rooftop panels and then sharing it back with the community – helping to balance the grid and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. It’s why we believe community batteries have an important role to play in Australia’s energy transition.
How does it work?
Whether you have solar panels or not, you can enjoy the benefits of a community battery. If you’re eligible to access a community battery but don’t have solar, you can use a set amount of energy per day – and receive a rebate on your energy use.
If you do have solar panels, it’s basically like renting storage space for your energy – without needing to install your own household battery. Excess solar (up to a set amount) is stored during the day and available for use when you need it. You’ll see savings in the form of credits every billing cycle for this exported energy.
As an example for our Ipswich trial, after factoring in a monthly subscription fee, homes with solar could save up to $260 per year – and homes without solar could save more than $180 per year.
Is there a community battery near me?
Depending on where you live, you may be able to access a community battery trial right now – but if not, there could be one coming to your neighbourhood soon. We’re currently involved in several trial programs, which will ultimately see around 80 community batteries accessed by 1,500 customers. This includes a program with Energex in the Queensland suburb of Ipswich, where we’re well on the way to our target of 35 batteries.
In New South Wales, we’ve partnered with Endeavour on battery projects in western Sydney (Bungarribee), the South Coast (Kiama and Shell Cove) and the Southern Highlands (Bowral), and with Essential in regional locations including Wagga Wagga, Port Macquarie, Armidale, Bathurst and Dubbo.
The most recent battery launch, in August 2024, was with Ausgrid in the iconic Australian suburb of Bondi.
