
Three community batteries commissioned last December in Goulburn, Leeton and Maloneys Beach, are now being traded in the National Electricity Market.
The commissioning follows Essential Energy successfully securing grants for three community batteries from the Federal Governments Community Batteries for Household Solar Program in 2023.
Community batteries are part of the local distribution network and designed to:
- store excess rooftop generated solar energy exported by solar customers within a neighbourhood during the day; and
- discharge that energy later in the day when energy demand is high and solar systems are no longer generating.
These community batteries will deliver a balanced benefit across the network, households and communities – with benefits including:
- Supports the transition to clean energy
- Customers can get better value from their rooftop solar systems
- Maximises residential energy generation through increased hosting capacity
- Allows customers who can’t afford batteries (or solar) to access benefits from a shared community battery; and
- Allows communities to generate, store and consume locally produced solar energy.
Essential Energy will be paying rebates back to customers from the profits generated by the trading, with around 250 customers in each community located near the battery to begin receiving an annual rebate from mid-2025.
Essential Energy’s operational battery fleet includes:
- Sovereign Hills battery – 1MW/2MWh
- Goulburn, Leeton and Maloneys Beach community batteries – 192kW/530kWh (nominal rating)
- Seven pole-mounted batteries operating in both Wagga Wagga and Armidale, with seven more to be installed in early 2025 in Port Macquarie, Dubbo and Bathurst - and a further two operating in Clarence Town.
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