Western Australia’s shift toward a cleaner, more reliable power grid has taken another step forward, with construction beginning on 18 new community batteries across Perth and Bunbury.
The joint initiative by the federal and state governments represents a total investment of AU$25 million, backed by AU$9.34 million from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) under its Community Battery program.
State network operator Western Power is spearheading the rollout, which includes 13 low-voltage batteries strategically placed across metropolitan Perth and five larger, medium-voltage systems bound for Bunbury.
Once online by mid-2027, the facilities will inject a combined 6.6 megawatts of storage capacity into the grid.
The sites were specifically chosen in areas experiencing exceptionally high rooftop solar adoption. The metropolitan batteries will each service roughly 130 households, while the larger regional setups in Bunbury are designed to link about 3,600 households each.
By soaking up excess solar power during peak daylight hours, the batteries will feed that clean energy back into the local grid during evening demand spikes.
Federal Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy Josh Wilson said the community batteries complement the more than 45,000 household systems installed across the state over the past year.
“These community batteries will help us make the most of the abundant solar generated during the day by storing and releasing it during the evening peak as the sun goes down,” Wilson said.
“It is the smart and sensible path to achieving WA’s potential as a renewable energy super-state.”
WA Energy and Decarbonisation Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson echoed the sentiment, noting the importance of modernising localised infrastructure alongside the state’s massive grid-scale projects in Collie and Kwinana.
“We know the cheapest energy mix for the future is renewables backed by gas and battery storage,” Sanderson said.
“These additional 18 batteries will help lower emissions, put downward pressure on energy costs and improve local power reliability.”
The federal government is also supporting WA’s energy transition through the Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS), with the latest WA tender backing 1.9 gigawatts of cheaper, cleaner renewable generation and 482 megawatts of battery storage as part of 10 new projects set to be built across regional WA.
