More Community Batteries: Narrabri and Mornington Peninsula

Narrabri. There’s a community battery going in there somewhere…

Australia is awash with new community battery stories – hardly surprising, since applications under the first round of the federal government’s $120 million Community Batteries for Household Solar program, closed in April. The government grants are starting to flow.

Today, we’re bringing two new projects to your attention, in Narrabri and in the Mornington Peninsula.

Narrabri is to receive $500,000 for a 360kWh community battery, to be installed and operated by local not-for-profit Geni.Energy.

Geni.Energy says Narrabri households who have rooftop solar, on average, export to the grid 10 kilowatt hours (kWh) per day of excess generation.

The battery will be built in the centre of town, in the Town Hall car park on Barwan and Doyle Streets, and will be part of a range of renewable infrastructure the council plans for its renewable energy precinct.

Solar penetration in Narrabri is high, according to Geni.Energy managing director Sally Hunter:

“Forty-four percent of homes in Narrabri have solar, the equal highest rate of solar of any shire in rural and regional NSW in the Essential Energy network. When this battery is built, Narrabri will be a shining example of how a town can harness and store the sun’s energy to support electricity use into the evening, while also powering the grid during the evening.”

The Narrabri Shire Council also plans EV charging stations in the renewable energy precinct, along with a solar car park.

Geni.Energy said the battery’s profits will be returned to the community to create more renewable energy projects.

The not-for-profit worked with the University of NSW’s ARC Research Hub for Integrated Energy Storage Systems to model the battery’s operation.

Mornington Peninsula

Funding for the Mornington Peninsula’s 360kWh battery was secured by the council working in partnership with the Yarra Energy Foundation and the Flinders Zero Carbon Community.

It will be installed at Flinders, the Yarra Energy Foundation said, and modelled on a battery already in operation in Fitzroy North, in the City of Yarra.

The Fitzroy North battery received funding through the Victorian Government’s Neighbourhood Battery Initiative to demonstrate the community support, operational, and technical viability of community batteries.

That project sought replicable and scalable designs that are financially viable, and deployable within planning regulations, the Yarra Energy Foundation said.