People power behind big battery idea

A COMMUNITY battery could be installed in Ballarat.

City of Ballarat staff are part of a project to write an investment-ready business case to advocate for the infrastructure as part of the Regional Greenhouse Alliance Neighbourhood Battery Investigation Project.

In partnership with Indigo Power and the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance, municipal officers will lobby for a Ballarat battery site, with the backing of a State Government Neighbourhood Battery Initiative grant.

CVGA, Goulburn Murray Climate Alliance, and Gippsland Alliance for Climate Action are also pushing for community batteries in 17 other regional Victorian local government areas.

“The project will plan community batteries at sites servicing a high value community need, such as emergency shelters, places of last resort, and other critical community facilities, with a focus on exploring how to maximise benefits at different community sites,” CVGA CEO Annika Kearton said.

The City of Ballarat is an alliance member, and mayor Cr Des Hudson said Ballarat will play an important role in the case development.

“This initiative aligns with our Carbon Neutrality and 100% Renewables Action Plan to achieve carbon neutrality within our organisation by 2025,” he said.

“It will also support the Ballarat Net Zero Emissions Plan as communities are exploring how they can accelerate the uptake of local renewable energy technologies to reduce emissions enhance and enhance community energy resilience.”

Community batteries can store solar-generated electricity at daytime and discharge it to homes at night during periods of high power demand.

The aim of the technology is to keep energy local, and lower grassroots greenhouse gas emissions.