Residents in Newstead, about 2 hours northeast of Melbourne, are harnessing the power of renewable energy.
A new solar and battery project is improving their energy security and lowering power bills.
Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio opened the Newstead Community Energy Project on August 22. The project will allow Newstead to reach its goal of becoming 100% powered by renewable energy.
The Newstead Community Energy Project
- 3 megawatt solar farm.
- Onsite 5 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system, allowing excess solar power generated to be stored and used overnight and during periods of high energy consumption.
- Led by a community group called Renewable Newstead.
- Victorian Government invested $1.1 million.
Supporting delivery
Renewable Newstead partnered with Flow Power to develop, build and connect the Newstead Energy Project. Flower Power is an electricity energy retailer and renewable energy developer.
Flow Power employed local contractors throughout the process. They will also support additional community benefits through a community fund.
There are now 50 solar farms across Victoria that are either fully operational, under construction, or at the commissioning stage.
We are also delivering 100 neighbourhood batteries across the state through the 100 Neighbourhood Batteries program. The first round is delivering 25 batteries across 20 towns, storing more than 4.2 megawatt hours of electricity, with a second round set to open soon.
Neighbourhood batteries
- Larger than a household battery but smaller than grid-scale batteries.
- return power into the hands of local communities
- soak up cheap and clean renewable energy when it is plentiful and dispatching it when it is needed most.
Every neighbourhood has its own characteristics. The 100NB Program welcomes a broad range of applications from:
- community groups
- councils
- businesses
- developers
- not-for-profits.
For more information, visit Neighbourhood Batteries.
Page last updated: 29/08/24