Evoenergy has teamed up with the ACT Government to trial three new neighbourhood batteries, marking one of the first community battery projects in Canberra.
Partially funded by the Federal Government’s Community Batteries for Houshold Solar program, the batteries are expected to be installed and operational before the end of 2025.
Following the successful integration of community batteries in other areas of Australia, the pilot project will provide valuable insights into how this technology could be best used in the future to benefit both the community and the energy network in the ACT.
The three batteries, similar in size to a single-door fridge-freezer, will be installed in Casey, Dickson and Fadden, next to an existing electrical substation.
These substations help manage energy distribution to the connected households. Installing a battery close to the distribution substation enables the battery to work efficiently within the existing network and enables solar power connected to the substation to feed into the battery.
Evoenergy said individual households and businesses in the communities will not see any impact on their daily electricity use, but the whole community is expected to benefit from:
- Increased network capacity, enabling more solar connections
- Improved quality of power supply during peak times
- Enhanced management of demand on the grid
The three communities were selected for the trial to test how small-scale neighbourhood batteries can be integrated in different kinds of neighbourhoods.
The utility said Casey is a great place to test how community batteries can be integrated into newer suburbs where many homes have solar panels installed. Its new battery will be installed at the John Crawford Crescent Playground on John Crawford Street, next to the existing substation.
Dickson was chosen to test how community batteries can be integrated into a more densely populated suburb with homes, apartments and businesses. The battery will be installed near the existing substation opposite the Common Ground Complex on Hawdon Place.
The neighbourhood battery in Faden will test how such assets can be integrated into established suburbs with older style homes and large users like schools and a childcare centre, and the battery will be installed near the Fadden Primary School on Hanlon Crescent.
Evoenergy said the physical installation of the batteries is expected to take three to six weeks and involves foundation work and cabling from the battery to the existing substation.
