Canberra’s biggest battery to fund rooftop PV and storage for charities through community benefit scheme

Eku Energy’s 250 megawatt (MW) / 500MWh Williamsdale battery in Canberra will fund two rooftop solar and battery storage systems for local not-for-profit organisations, as part of a combined $500,000 community benefit program.

Eku Energy on Wednesday revealed the nine community groups awarded funding through its Powering Big Dreams program, established alongside a novel revenue sharing deal the company negotiated with the ACT government in late 2024.

The Williamsdale battery energy storage system (BESS), located in Tuggeranong, is part of the ACT government’s Big Canberra Battery project, designed to help Australia’s capital territory to reach net zero emissions by 2045 and achieve greater energy security.

Eku Energy, the global battery storage platform of investment giant Macquarie, says the combined $500,000 in funding will go towards supporting the natural environment around the BESS, energy independence for communities and social and support programs.

Among the selected projects, a 40kW solar + 9 kWh battery is being installed at the distribution warehouse in Canberra of charitable organisation, St Vincent De Paul Society, to cut its energy costs.

A separate solar and battery system is also being installed at social accommodation facility operated by YWCA Canberra, Lady Hayden House. that provides housing for older women experiencing homelessness.

Eke Energy’s head of policy, Rachel Rundle, says the $500,000 grants program was part of the company’s agreement with the ACT government, alongside a separate $500,000 funding partnership with the Australian National University’s battery storage and grid integration program.

Rundle says that while community benefits prorams are increasingly being built in to planning rules as a mandatory requirement for renewable energy developers, for Eku Energy it is something the company has always considered important.

“It’s important for us to be able to share these benefits back with the local host communities, because they are long-term pieces of infrastructure. These community groups are there for the long term,” Rundle told Renew Economy in an interview this week.

“And part of the evaluation of these … grant recipients, was saying … how can we provide money that helps them become more self sustainable, themselves, or build their own capabilities, such that they’re not, you know, dependent on funding into the future.”

St Vincent De Paul Society sustainability and projects manager Hammad Naqvi says that the organisation’s Mitchell warehouse that was the recipient of the solar and battery system is “the engine room” behind the 11 Vinnies op shops in Canberra.

“Accepting and sorting through over 2,000 tons of homewares, clothes and books every year the warehouse is also one of the most important locations for advancing the circular economy in Canberra.

“The warehouse performs this work to raise funds to deliver vital social welfare programs within Canberra and its surrounding region. The installation of solar power allows Vinnies to reduce operational costs and strengthen the delivery of social programs and the environmentally important work we do.

“By funding solar power, the grant helps us create a safe, air‑conditioned working environment for our warehouse team-even in Canberra’s extreme weather while advancing both our environmental and social sustainability goals.”

Rundle says that the solar and battery for Lady Heydon House is not just about cutting energy costs for YWCA, but for empowering the tenants of the housing facility.

“Those tenants make contributions to operating costs [at the housing facility] and so that is an extra cost that for some of those women is really hard for them to meet,” she tells Renew Economy.

“So, yeah, helping them, achieve stable housing, but also manage their expenses such that they have that that mobility a bit more.”

Rundle says that as more and more big battery projects roll out around Australia – Eku Energy has a total of 10 projects at various stages of operation and development, nationally – the more important it is to ensure there is meaningful community engagement and clear, two-way communication.

“We just try to continue to stay respectful, listen and share knowledge as best we can, and really take a partnership approach,” she says.

“Sometimes it might not be a community grants program that’s the most impactful. Maybe it’s actually contributing to a local council initiative to upgrade a road or bridges or whatever the thing is that’s needed by that community.

“So we’re not trying not to be too strict, I guess, as to only wanting to do a grants program, I think we’ll keep that flexibility there.”

In the Riverina region in New South Wales, Eku is developing the eight-hour, 100 megawatt (MW) Griffith battery, with financial close expected to kick off construction later this year.

“We’ve had a quite a few drop in sessions, lots of meetings with council to understand … [the] different social programs that they’re working on. So we’re doing a bit of collaboration with them .. [and] lots of engagement going on there.”

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