South Australian utility starts community battery rollout

Australian state utility SA Power Networks will begin the installation of the first of eight community batteries being deployed across regional SA to build energy resilience in communities.

The BESS planned for the township of Kimba, 460 km west of Adelaide, will provide up to eight hours of back-up power during power outages. The community battery will be installed at the Kimba district football and netball clubrooms by early 2026.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and Hong Kong-controlled utility SA Power Networks are jointly funding the statewide rollout of community batteries.

Greg Eyers, SA Power’s operations manager for the Eyre Peninsula, said the utility wants to make sure the local community has access to reliable energy. “This partnership with [Australian telecoms company] Telstra and the District Council of Kimba reflects our shared goal to enhance the resilience of the township, offering peace of mind to the local community,” he said.

District Council of Kimba CEO Deb Larwood said the battery will provide much needed backup to the community hub, helping Kimba stay connected and supported in times of need.

ARENA funding

SA Power Networks received funding from ARENA to deliver the SA community batteries and will test a range of use cases to build expertise and enable the deployment of such facilities at scale across its grid. The current eight projects involve four EV charger support batteries; two high voltage (HV) grid support BESS; and a pair of community resilience sites.

The utility has begun liaising with the seven councils set to receive BESS and with suppliers and has initiated detailed planning and design of the sites.

Grid support

Two batteries will be installed at SA Power substations in Robe and Lameroo to support HV lines by managing peak loads and voltage.

EV charging

BESS will minimize the impact of new, fast EV charging connections on the SA Power grid, in locations where fast EV charger connection has thus far been prohibitively expensive due to network constraints.

Funding round

ARENA on Feb. 26 announced an AUD 46.3 million ($29.3 million) second Community Batteries Funding Initiative project bidding round.

From pv magazine Australia.