Ausgrid and United Energy, two of Australia’s biggest network operators have revealed plans to invest in community-scale battery storage in moves that will boost the grid’s capacity to absorb more rooftop solar, and also put network companies on a collision course with the major energy retailers.
New South Wales electricity distributor Ausgrid will roll out long-awaited community batteries as part of its plan to shift investment towards solar supply options.
Ausgrid has confirmed three such batteries will be installed in its network in 2021 as part of a trial and following lengthy negotiations with local councils.
United Energy, which services south-east Melbourne suburbs and beyond, has a slightly different approach, proposing around 30 pole mounted batteries, rather than bigger ground mounted installations.
They will serve much the same purpose, increasing the capacity of the local grid to absorb rooftop solar, and avoiding network upgrades.
Community-scale batteries have been championed particularly in Western Australia, where the network provider Western Power has been installing numerous Tesla Powerpacks, in formations of around 500kWh, to stop reverse flows on “weak” parts of the networks, and offering localised storage to solar households in the area.
Ausgrid customers with solar panels who are connected to a community battery can use it to store their excess solar power and access it as needed without the upfront costs associated with their own storage battery.
Ausgrid has talked up community batteries as central in the future of the network in a decarbonising world for the past couple of years, and as a way to provide network by avoiding equipment overloads.
The trial batteries will be installed in suburbs controlled by Northern Beaches City Council, City of Canterbury Bankstown and Lake Macquarie City Council.
The move follows the release of a feasibility study on whether community batteries were a feasible alternative to traditional network investment.
The study found the community battery initiative could be feasible within as little as three years.
Ausgrid has claimed community batteries could help drive down energy prices by encouraging greater solar uptake by household and business, and in turn reducing peak demand on the grid.
Ausgrid chief executive Richard Gross said he believed the community battery trial would be “a game changer for our industry”.
“Joining this trial requires no upfront investment for our customers compared to installing their own battery and will provide a great option to save on energy costs,” he said.
United Energy said the trial should demonstrate how they can defer network spending, offer new services, and open up new storage options where the installation of batteries were constrained by the prevalence of household air conditioning units.
