Queenscliff to build resilience with new community battery hub

QUEENSCLIFF’S Monahan Centre is set to become a “resilience hub” for the local community during extreme weather events and power outages.

Bellarine MP Alison Marchant announced the Borough of Queenscliffe as a beneficiary in the second round of the Victorian government’s $42 million 100 Neighbourhood Batteries Program last week, with a new “resilience battery” to be installed at the sports facility on Hesse Street.

The battery will help to form a “microgrid” across several nearby buildings and will be paired with solar to provide back-up power to critical community services during prolonged network outages.

“This initiative ensures the Queenscliff community has access to sustainable and reliable energy solutions that can provide vital support during extreme weather events,” Ms Marchant said.

Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio said the battery will “soak-up cheap renewable energy” from rooftop solar during the day and feed it back into the buildings it is connected to during the evenings, when demand for power is high.

In doing so, she said, the battery will “drive down” bills for local families and help to “keep the power flowing to essential services” in the event of extreme weather, ensuring the community “can continue to access the help and assistance they need.”

It will be installed alongside an additional four neighbourhood batteries, expected to be delivered by August, which will be spread across Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale on council-owned land.

These batteries, first announced in March last year, will be modest in size – the equivalent of approximately three large refrigerators placed side-by-side – and similarly store locally generated solar energy for community use, with the aim of injecting 400kW/1,000kWh of energy storage into the local grid.