The Victorian Government is building neighbourhood batteries throughout the State, storing renewable energy to reduce emissions and energy costs.
Minister for Energy Lily D’Ambrosio has announced the installation of two new neighbourhood batteries in Richmond and Docklands.
“Neighbourhood batteries capture more power from rooftop solar during the day and feed it back in the evening, sharing the cost savings of solar with local communities,” Minister D’Ambrosio said.
Minister D’Ambrosio added that the State Government is providing batteries to communities across Victoria, bringing the State closer to its Energy Storage Targets, lowering community costs, and assisting Victoria in halving emissions by 2030.
The State Government is advancing its $10.9 million neighbourhood batteries scheme, which aims to increase rooftop solar adoption by storing inexpensive, clean renewable energy locally and delivering it back to the host community.
The State Government will invest $1.5 million in two community batteries in Richmond and Docklands as part of Round 2 of the Neighbourhood Battery Initiative (NBI).
By storing generated electricity during the day and discharging it back at night, neighbourhood-scale batteries improve energy stability and enable the grid to support additional rooftop solar.
The Yarra Energy Foundation will install a 120kW/390kWh battery and an off-street EV charging station in the Burnley Backyard, a Richmond Council community centre. The City of Melbourne will build a 150kW/300kWh system at the Dock Library, the first of a proposed 5-megawatt (MW) network of neighbourhood-scale batteries.
The batteries will help the State Government meet its Energy Storage Targets of 2.6 gigatonnes (GW) of renewable energy storage capacity by 2030, with an additional objective of 6.3 GW by 2035.
A third round of the NBI will be launched in early 2023, with further information to follow shortly. Projects in Round 2 will begin in 2022 and will be finished by June 2024.
