Small regional communities are working to secure their own energy futures amid rising electricity prices and widespread fear of blackouts.
Key Points:
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Regional Victorian towns Ballan and Pomonal are investigating a community battery
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Experts say batteries will be an important part of Australia’s renewable energy transition
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Questions remain about what role community-level batteries will play in the mix
A new report from the Australian Energy Market Operator shows electricity prices rose to their highest levels on record in the three months to June 30, leading to a rise in energy bills in the east coast
Communities like Ballan, 80 kilometers northwest of Melbourne, are pushing their own renewable energy projects as they seek reliability, lower costs and reduced environmental impact.
The volunteer-run Moorabool Environment Group is working with residents on the first steps of a project to bring a community battery to the town of almost 3,400 people.
Rose De la cruz has solar panels on her house in Ballan and would like to connect to a community battery. (Provided by: Rose De la cruz)
Rose De la cruz, a resident and member of the group, said Ballan was a “good candidate” for the technology.
“We experience power outages here and we have an increasing number of residential houses with solar power on their roofs,” he said.
“Everyone’s talking about the cost of electricity at the moment, so people are interested in anything that lowers the cost.”
The basic concept was for households and organizations with rooftop solar to feed into a shared battery and draw electricity when needed.
Ben McGowan inspects a medium-sized battery at Yackandandah. (ABC News: Emilia Terzon)
More information on the cost of living in Australia:
Increase in intake
Community batteries are becoming an increasingly popular option for regional communities.
The first community battery in Yackandandah, a small resort town in north-east Victoria, was launched in July 2021 after two years of planning and fundraising.
The 274-kilowatt-hour battery that supplies electricity to 40 homes from solar panels on the roof of a former sawmill is part of a larger mission to have the entire city powered by renewable energy.
It also serves as a backup power supply.
Residents of the western Victorian town of Pomonal, on the edge of the power grid, are also looking for solutions to eliminate blackout problems.
Pomonal Power People member Dee-Ann Kelly said more people had become interested in the idea of a community battery.
Grampians Community Power Hub organized a community meeting in Pomonal. (Supplied)
“I’m interested in the idea that not everyone needs to own solar,” he said.
“Down the road I’m willing to do solar, but for now I want to be able to use where we have solar and where we can have solar in the future.”
He said the project was also about supporting people who didn’t have the ability to put solar panels on their properties.
“We talked about not leaving people behind,” he said.
The municipality is part of a community battery feasibility study and is awaiting a report to decide next steps.
Ms Kelly said maintaining interest and pushing the project forward could be a challenge, as it could take many years and was not an “overnight fix”.
52 households access a community battery in Meadow Springs, Western Australia. (Provided by: Western Power)
But he said he was confident that the community’s desire for energy reliability during disasters, such as wildfires, and a broad focus on sustainability would drive continued support.
“We live in the beautiful Grampians and we have nature all around us. That’s what drives people to want to have a future and to be involved in making really important decisions,” he said.
Clean energy future
Australia Institute energy adviser Dan Cass said Australia was too reliant on “risky and expensive” coal and “increasingly expensive” gas.
Cass said the community battery model would be part of the movement to build clean energy resources quickly to avoid another energy crisis.
A community battery in the Perth suburb of Port Kennedy. (Provided by: Western Power)
He said the Australian Energy Market Operator’s model showed the need to build thousands of gigawatts of battery storage over the next few years.
“We need a lot more batteries on the grid, and we need them urgently,” he said.
“The question is who owns the batteries and what is the scale at which they are built?”
Cass said large batteries, mid-scale community batteries and small home batteries are likely to be part of the solution.
“I think eventually we’ll find that every freestanding roof in the country will be able to have solar panels and, in some cases, be battery-backed,” he said.
“It will give enormous power and control to energy consumers and communities, as well as being more resilient and zero emissions.
“Australia is in a fantastic position … it’s just a matter of planning it right and this will be the last energy crisis Australia will ever have to face.”
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