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What is a neighbourhood battery?
- A neighbourhood battery is an electricity storage system. It is also known as a community battery or mid-scale battery.
- Neighbourhood batteries enable you to generate, store and consume your own renewable energy.
- Larger than household solar batteries, and smaller than utility scale battery.
Objectives of the 100 Neighbourhood Batteries Program
The Victorian Government is funding these grants to:
- pass on benefits from local renewable energy and energy storage to consumers. This includes lowering household energy bills
- increase energy reliability
- reduce costs of network upgrades
- support communities to contribute to Victoria’s energy transition
- scale up the delivery of operational models for neighbourhood-scale batteries.
Benefits of a neighbourhood battery
Neighbourhood batteries can mean:
- access to renewable energy
- lower residential power bills
- the ability to generate revenue
- a more reliable electricity supply for consumers*
- a contribution to Victoria’s energy transition
- a solution for managing energy supply and demand in low voltage networks
- the ability to store and use renewable energy all year round.
*Reliability in the electricity system means a system delivering electricity with minimal interruptions or failures over a period of time.
Resilience is the network’s ability to continue to adequately provide network services and recover those services when subjected to disruptive events.
A neighbourhood battery when combined with solar panels, a generator and switching equipment, can provide resilience.
In front of the meter versus behind the meter
The 100 Neighbourhood Batteries Program funds:
- ‘in front of the meter’ batteries
- ‘behind the meter’ batteries
- hybrid configurations that combine elements of both.
In front of the meter
In front of meter refers to batteries located outside or in front of the utility meter. For neighbourhood batteries this means:
- they are located outside of homes or properties
- they are connected directly to the local electricity network
- the energy stored in them is used to supply the grid or distributed to various customers
- they can be owned by energy providers, councils or communities.
Behind the meter
Behind the meter refers to batteries located on the customer’s side of the utility meter. For neighbourhood batteries this means:
- they store and consume energy separately from the grid
- they are connected to the same meter as other generation or load, such as a rooftop solar system and a building
- generation, consumption, storage, and management of energy is located on-site
- they are owned by individual customers, businesses, or third-party service providers.
Alternatives to neighbourhood batteries
There are alternatives to a neighbourhood battery, depending on its purpose. Alternatives that could be cheaper and/or more straight forward, include:
- improved energy efficiency
- solar bulk buys
- household battery bulk buys
- purchasing GreenPower
- speaking to your local Distribution Network Service Provider about solutions to network issues.
Current funded 100 Neighbourhood Batteries projects
Funding (of up to $300,000 per battery) for project(s) that:
- implement one or more neighbourhood battery(s) (including installation and commissioning)
- demonstrate quantified benefits for both the electricity network and local electricity consumers
- include a minimum 30% cash co-contribution
- each battery must be a chemical battery of a minimum size 25 kW/ 50 kWh and maximum 5M W/ 10 MWh
- will complete project delivery by 1 August 2025.
Project name | AusNet’s 10 LV Pole-Mounted Batteries |
|---|---|
Lead applicant | AusNet |
No. batteries | 10 |
Location/s |
|
Project summary | AusNet will install 10 low voltage (LV) pole-mounted batteries across their distribution network, which includes Melbourne metropolitan and regional areas. Batteries will be deployed as an alternative solution to traditional network augmentation, delivering both customer and network benefits. |
Status | In progress |
- Funding (of up to $300,000 per battery) for project(s) that:
- implement one or more neighbourhood battery(s) (including installation and commissioning)
- demonstrate quantified benefits for local electricity consumers
- include a minimum 10% cash co-contribution
- each battery must be a chemical battery of a minimum size 50 kW/ 100 kWh and maximum 5 MW/ 10 MWh
- will complete project delivery by 1 August 2025.
- Tatura
- Wangaratta
Project name | Phillip Island Neighbourhood Batteries | |
|---|---|---|
Lead applicant | Mondo Power | |
No. batteries | 7 | |
Location/s | Phillip Island | |
Project summary | Mondo Power will deploy 7 neighbourhood batteries on Phillip Island. Once commissioned, a portion of the batteries’ operating income will be allocated annually to community-focused initiatives in collaboration with Bass Coast Shire and community group Totally Renewable Phillip Island (TRPI). | |
Status | In progress | |
Project name | Queenscliff Neighbourhood Batteries | |
Lead applicant | Mondo Power | |
No. batteries | 4 | |
Location/s | Queenscliff | |
Project summary | Mondo Power will deliver 4 neighbourhood batteries on council-managed land in the Borough of Queenscliffe. Once commissioned, the batteries will be owned and operated by Mondo Power. All sites will enable higher levels of rooftop solar penetration and each system is expected to deliver community benefits tailored to that location. | |
Status | In progress | |
Project name | Wodonga Neighbourhood Battery | |
Lead applicant | Indigo Power | |
Project partner | North East Region Water Corporation | |
No. batteries | 1 | |
Location/s | Baranduda | |
Project summary | Indigo Power will install a neighbourhood battery at a water treatment plant in Baranduda within the City of Wodonga. The system will be connected to the electricity grid ‘behind-the-meter’ through an existing high-capacity connection point, so the battery will operate as an effective solar soak. | |
Status | In progress | |
Project name | Yack02 – Powered and Empowered | |
Lead applicant | Totally Renewable Yackandandah (TRY) | |
Project Partner | Indigo Power | |
No. batteries | 1 | |
Location/s | Yackandandah | |
Project summary | With Indigo Shire Council and the volunteer committee, Totally Renewable Yackandandah will install a neighbourhood battery at the Yackandandah Sports Park. This installation aims to boost the proportion of ‘low carbon’ power in the network each evening, reduce power bills, and support increased solar generation. Critically, the battery will also be able to power site backup loads during outages or emergencies. | |
Status | In progress | |
Project name | GVCE – Resilient Community Organisations | |
Lead applicant | GV Community Energy (GVCE) | |
Project Partner | Future NRG Moyola Aged Care Merriwa Industries | |
No. batteries | 2 | |
Location/s | ||
Project summary | GVCE will deliver 2 neighbourhood batteries | |
Page last updated: 30/05/24