A neighbourhood battery with gum leaf mural painted on it stands in gravel setting in Tarneit

A new digital tool will help you find out if your community or organisation is ready to install a neighbourhood battery.

The 100 Neighbourhood Batteries Program is delivering more batteries to Victorian communities this year. This supports energy reliability and cheaper energy bills.

The 100 Neighbourhood Batteries Program is open to:

  • councils
  • community groups
  • businesses
  • developers
  • not-for-profits.

What is a neighbourhood battery?

  • Larger than a household battery but smaller than grid-scale batteries
  • neighbourhood batteries return power into the hands of local communities
  • they soak up cheap renewable energy when it is plentiful and dispatch it when it is most needed
  • ensure local households and businesses get the most out of their solar
  • storing excess power helps to drive down power bills and improve reliability.

Two new tools are making funding applications easier than ever.

The Project Readiness Assessment Tool

  • determine whether a neighbourhood battery is the right fit for your local community
  • find out if you are ready to apply
  • helps you get ready to apply for funding.

Neighbourhood Battery Business Case Tool

  • For organisations that want to put together a business case and submit an application for funding
  • Helps more community organisations build the business case for their project and develop a stronger application for Government funding.

The 100 Neighbourhood Batteries Program

  • Has already funded 25 batteries
  • Builds on the successes of the $10.92 million Neighbourhood Battery Initiative, which delivered batteries in places like Tarneit and Fitzroy North.

Projects delivered by the $42 million 100 Neighbourhood Batteries Program will improve local energy network reliability and remove constraints. This helps to reduce the incidence of power outages and allows for more households to take-up rooftop solar.

Applications for the next round open in August. One-on-one advice and support from our team of neighbourhood battery experts is also available by emailing neighbourhood.batteries@deeca.vic.gov.au.

For more information, visit Neighbourhood Batteries.

Page last updated: 03/06/24