This event is for anyone interested in the idea of a community battery in Port Phillip.

The Port Phillip Emergency Climate Action Network (PECAN) is actively working with the Metro Community Power Hub (MCPH) to assess interest in establishing a community battery in Port Phillip.

PECAN conducted a webinar in 2021 which identified significant community support for a community battery locally.

The MCPH is a one-stop shop working with communities to develop, support & delivery local, cost-effective clean energy projects. The Hub is being funded by Sustainability Victoria on behalf of the Victorian Government through the Community Power Hubs program and is led by the not-for-profit Yarra Energy Foundation (YEF).

YEF is leading the Yarra Community Battery Project in North Fitzroy and YEF’s Chief Operating Officer Tim Shue will be speaking at our event, along with Deb Sykes from PECAN.

A community battery (also known as a neighbourhood battery) is a locally-based shared battery. It is typically the size of a 4WD vehicle, and provides around 500kWH of storage that can support up to 250 local households. A community battery could facilitate the reduction of community greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in better health outcomes, greater community wellbeing and also contribute to reducing Melbourne’s overall emissions.

Solar households would feed into the battery during the day and all participating residents can draw from the stored energy at night. A community battery would allow households that can’t install solar – like apartment owners and renters – to draw from the stored renewable energy from local solar panels. Any excess electricity stored in a community battery above local community needs can be sold into the grid when it is needed most putting further downward pressure on electricity bills.

Increasing battery storage could:

● Cut power bills for households – by taking advantage of inexpensive and renewable solar energy that can be stored and used at peak times;

● Cut emissions – by increasing the total use of renewable energy;

● Reduce pressure on the grid – by reducing community reliance on the grid at peak times when the sun isn’t shining.

Community batteries make renewable energy more accessible to individual households. They also store and distribute electricity more efficiently, by allowing excess solar power to be shared.