The Central Coast is the next cab off the rank following the first of six community batteries to be installed in and around the Sydney region now up-and-running at Cabarita.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen and Ausgrid CEO Marc England joined local MP Sally Sitou and residents as the 412kWh battery was switched on.
Five other batteries are set to be switched on at Bondi, Cammeray, Narara, North Epping and Warriewood over the coming months, with the Central Coast planned to be next in line.
Community batteries are flexible and scalable energy solutions which benefit both the local communities they are built within and the wider energy system.
Batteries like this support power quality and voltage, enabling residents to install more solar and feed the solar energy into the grid, and support home electrification and electric vehicle charging.
The batteries will also support more intermittent renewable energy generation by bridging the gap between when that energy is generated and when it is needed.
This means excess solar generated by homes can be stored locally during the day, reducing the need to buy more expensive power from the grid when the sun isn’t shining.
Community batteries can also help apply downward pressure on energy prices by avoiding costly network upgrades to meet peak demand.
Ausgrid CEO Marc England said the benefits of community batteries were immense.
“We estimate NSW consumers could save up to $20B if community batteries replaced half the expected home batteries, with the added benefits of continuing to put downward pressure on peak energy prices while maintaining grid stability” he said.
“In addition, community batteries take advantage of our existing network infrastructure, speeding up installation time and reducing the need for expensive network augmentation.
“By 2030, with the right regulatory arrangements, we could deliver more than one to two GW of storage, leading to increased electricity system security and reliability for our customers.
“We are excited and ready to make electricity accessible to everyone as we drive a net-zero future.”
For more information on community batteries, visit www.ausgrid.com.au/sharedbattery
Source:
Ausgrid