New community battery to absorb excess rooftop solar in Australian suburb

New South Wales network operator Ausgrid has added another community battery to its portfolio, powering up a 200 kW energy storage system in the Sydney suburb of Cammeray.
Ausgrid has launched its sixth community battery under the Federal Government’s Community Batteries for Household Solar Program at Cammeray, further expanding the electricity distributor’s Energy Storage as a Service (ESaaS) initiative. | Image: Ausgrid / Brett Costello

Ausgrid said the 200 kW / 284 kWh Cammeray community battery system will support local power supply quality and voltage by harnessing and storing locally generated solar while allowing residents to more effectively use their own solar systems.

Ausgrid said residents in the area will be able to access the 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 and is available to all eligible residential customers connected to any Ausgrid community battery on an opt-in basis.

“Community batteries are an example of the huge opportunity which sits in the existing network to drive a faster, cheaper and more equitable energy transition,” Ausgrid distributed services group executive Rob Amphlett Lewis said.

The Cammaray 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 (USD 125.7 million) to install 420 community batteries across Australia.

Ausgrid has also installed community batteries in the Sydney suburbs of Cabarita, Cameron Park, Warriewood and Bondi, and at Narara on the Central Coast under the program. The distributor has also rolled out community batteries at Beacon Hill, Bankstown, North Epping and Bexley North.

Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen, who attended the launch of the Cammeray battery, said the program is designed to ensure all communities get the benefit of the energy transformation.

“Aussie homeowners know rooftop solar is a no-brainer when it comes to bringing down bills, with one in three households embracing solar but only around one in 40 households have battery storage,” he said.

“Our Community Batteries for Household Solar program ensures households can share or use their excess rooftop solar energy locally and reap the economic benefits without having to buy their own battery.”

Written by

  • David is a senior journalist with more than 25 years' experience in the Australian media industry as a writer, designer and editor for print and online publications. Based in Queensland – Australia’s Sunshine State – he joined pv magazine Australia in 2020 to help document the nation’s ongoing shift to solar.

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