Ausgrid has today unveiled a community battery in Bankstown, which will harness and store solar power from local homes, providing savings on energy costs and allowing more renewable energy into the grid.
The Bankstown community battery is the second battery installed as part of a trial being run by Ausgrid, which will allow residents to store their excess solar power, the first of its kind on Australia’s east coast.
Ausgrid chief customer officer Rob Amphlett Lewis welcomed Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Khal Asfour to the unveiling today.
“I’m thrilled to be here launching Ausgrid’s second community battery this year. We’re confident our community battery project will transform the way solar energy is stored, reduce resident’s hip pocket costs, reduce peak demand and support the use of renewable energy,” Mr Amphlett Lewis said.
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“We’ve had great feedback about this project since the launch of our first community battery in Beacon Hill two months ago. Three out of four existing solar customers in the Beacon Hill community battery trial area have shown interest in participating, and we’ve also had interest from people who don’t have solar panels but are now considering installing them.
“This shows that people are excited about the community battery concept, which allows multiple households in a certain area to ‘share’ a storage system for the excess energy generated by solar panels, and is a big step towards cost effectively increasing the amount of clean energy which goes into the grid.”
“Community batteries are cheaper for the customer, better for the community and greener for the grid. It’s a win, win, win.”
Canterbury-Bankstown mayor Khal Asfour said he’s proud his community has been selected to take part in the community battery trial.
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“We’ve seen a big uptake in rooftop solar panels in the Canterbury-Bankstown area recently, and this fantastic initiative will allow people to store their excess solar power without having to spend thousands of dollars on the upfront cost of an individual battery,” Mr Asfour said.
“This valuable new community asset will allow residents to use more of the clean energy they generate, save on electricity costs and get more value from their solar investments.
“We encourage all our residents, who may be unsure if solar is right for them, to get in touch with Council or the Australian Energy Foundation, which can provide obligation free quotes and energy advice.”
A third community battery will be installed in Lake Macquarie City Council in the coming months.
