Ausgrid is enabling more Northern Beaches home-owners to install solar on their rooftops with the installation of Ausgrid’s fourth community battery under the federal government’s Community Batteries for Household Solar Program.
This battery at Warriewood will continue supporting the electrification of local homes while enabling more to participate in the clean energy transition, by soaking up excess solar energy during the day and feeding it back into the grid at peak times.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said it would play an important role in helping households access cleaner, cheaper energy and increasing grid resilience.
“It’s incredibly exciting to deliver a community battery for Warriewood, our Reliable Renewables plan is bringing cleaner, cheaper reliable renewable energy to communities across the country,” Minister Bowen said.
At the unveiling of the community battery, Dr Sophie Scamps MP, Member for Mackellar said: “It’s a win for the environment and a win for households battling cost of living increases.
“It means more solar panels and electric car chargers can be connected to the network without stressing the existing infrastructure. It also means a stronger grid and fewer solar exports, and less investment in poles and wires because the solar power that is produced is used right here, in Warriewood,” Dr Sophie Scamps said.
Community batteries support local power supply quality and voltage by harnessing and storing excess solar from homes while allowing residents to more effectively use their own solar systems.
Ausgrid Group Executive Distributed Services Rob Amphlett Lewis said community batteries are visible signs of the energy transition that will also put downward pressure on energy bills.
“We know around 280,000 of our 1.8 million customers already have solar panels on their rooftops, with another 180,000 more expected to be installed by 2030.
“Our community batteries help these homes get the most out of their solar, while also sharing the benefits with houses who don’t have solar installations.
“We remain focused on finding the best solutions to drive the broader energy transition in the most efficient and equitable way.
“With the right regulatory settings, we could deliver more than 1.2 GW of storage across our network, leading to increased electricity system security and reliability for our customers,” he concluded.
Ausgrid is also exploring further partnerships with the government to be able to roll out more community batteries across the network while expanding the program to bigger battery storage systems.
Delivered with the assistance of Northern Beaches Council, the 535kWh community battery brings Ausgrid’s total number of community batteries to seven.
To support its community battery rollout under the Community Batteries for Household Solar Program, Ausgrid will co-deliver with Northern Beaches Council the installation of a 100kW rooftop solar system on the new Warriewood Community Centre.
The battery is wrapped in an artwork created by local First Nations artist Daniel McDonald, titled Skylight. Daniel is a proud deaf, First Nations Wonnarua artist, living on Gadigal land. His art is inspired by what he sees and feels from the physical environment, the atmosphere, human interaction and the dreamtime.
For more information on community batteries visit www.ausgrid.com.au/sharedbattery
