ARENA backs next wave of community batteries

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has marked the installation of its 100^th community battery, while committing a further $23.2 million to three projects aimed at scaling neighbourhood energy storage.

The milestone comes under ARENA's Community Batteries Funding Initiative, which is supporting the deployment of batteries designed to help household's make greater use of rooftop solar while improving flexibility across the electricity grid.

ARENA acting chief executive officer Chris Faris said reaching 100 batteries demonstrated growing confidence in the technology as Australia transitions towards a more renewable energy system.

"Reaching 100 community batteries demonstrates growing confidence in the role these assets can play in Australia's energy transition," Faris said.

"Community batteries help local communities make better use of rooftop solar by storing excess energy during the day and making it available when it is needed most."

ARENA said the projects were also providing data on battery performance, costs, business models, customer benefits and impacts on electricity networks, which could support broader commercial deployment.

Under the latest funding round, the YES Group Regional Community Batteries Project will receive $10.29 million to deploy 14 batteries across regional South Australia and New South Wales.

Ausgrid will receive $8 million for 21 community batteries across Sydney, the Central Coast and Hunter regions, while the City of Newcastle will receive $5 million to deploy 12 batteries integrated with embedded solar networks across the Newcastle local government area.

Faris said the program's broader value extended beyond the batteries themselves, with lessons from the projects helping inform future deployment.

"Importantly, the program is also generating valuable real-world data and insights on battery performance, costs, business models, customer benefits and grid impacts," he said.

"These learnings will help accelerate the commercial deployment of community batteries across Australia."

The funding forms part of the Federal Government's $200 million Community Batteries for Household Solar budget measure, form which $171 million was allocated to ARENA to test and scale community batteries and build an evidence base for wider deployment and consumer benefits.