New South Wales electricity distributor Ausgrid has added another centralised community battery to its portfolio, powering up a combined 10 MW energy storage system in the southwest Sydney suburb of Bankstown.
Image: Ausgrid
Ausgrid said the new Bankstown community battery energy storage system, its largest yet, will enable households without rooftop PV to reap the benefits of renewable energy, while easing pressure on the grid by absorbing excess solar-generated electricity.
Ausgrid said the two 5 MW batteries will store excess solar during the day and return it to the network when demand is highest, providing shared storage for thousands of households across Bankstown and surrounding suburbs.
Rob Amphlett Lewis, Ausgrid’s Group Executive Distributed Services, said community batteries are a practical way to make the benefits of energy storage accessible to everyone, including those typically not able to install a home battery or solar.
“Whether you have solar on your roof or not, rent or own, or live in a house or apartment, you can access the community battery and enjoy the savings that come with it,” he said
“Each community battery acts as a shared asset that can absorb abundant solar energy during the day when the sun is shining and share it back to the network during the evening peak.”
He also noted that community batteries can offer more effective management of the local network, strengthen network reliability and enable more household solar to connect. They can also help avoid costly upgrades to the electricity network’s pole and wires.
Ausgrid said residents in Bankstown and surrounding suburbs will be able to access the new battery via its Energy Storage as a Service (ESaaS) initiative that allows eligible customers to use community batteries in a similar way to a household battery but without the upfront costs.
The ESaaS retail plan is being offered in collaboration with retailers Energy Australia and Origin. The network estimates eligible customers could save about $200 (USD 141) a year on their energy bills.
The Bankstown community battery is the latest to be delivered by Ausgrid as part of the federal government’s Community Batteries for Household Solar program that is investing $200 million to install 400 community batteries across Australia.
Ausgrid has also installed community batteries in the Sydney suburbs of Beacon Hill, Bondi, Cabarita, Cameron Park, Cammeray, Cooranbong, Warriewood, North Epping and Bexley North, and at Narara on the Central Coast, with more planned in coming months.
Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the federal government is also backing a further 45 community batteries across the country through Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) funding, with these projects expected to be switched on over the next few months.
“Community batteries are helping redefine how reliable renewable energy is delivered to homes and businesses across Australia, including in southwestern Sydney,” he said.
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