Not-for-profit secures federal funding for three new community batteries

Melbourne not-for-profit Yarra Energy Foundation (YEF) has secured federal funding to support the deployment of three more community batteries.

YEF, which has already deployed three community batteries in inner-Melbourne, announced this week that it had secured additional federal funding from the government’s Community Batteries for Household Solar program.

The new federal funding will support the deployment of new community batteries in Altona, Manor Lakes, and Torquay.

While exact locations for the ‘front-of-meter’ batteries are yet to be finalised – which will be connected to the local grid in proximity to where residential properties are also connected – YEF will partner with electricity provider Diamond Energy who will operate the batteries as part of their virtual power plant (VPP) control solution.

Households in each of the three suburbs will also be eligible for a special retail offer from Diamond Energy, though again, these details will be further developed as the projects progress.

As one of the few actual community organisations to benefit from the federal government’s Community Batteries for Household Solar, YEF is prioritising community consultation in each of the suburbs, promising to work closely with prospective landholders Hobsons Bay City Council in Altona, Wyndham City Council in Manor Lakes, and Barwon Water in Torquay.

YEF has already completed one community battery, Victoria’s first ever inner-urban community battery installed in Fitzroy North which was completed in 2022, and is in the process of installing two more in the inner Melbourne suburbs of Clifton Hill and Richmond.

Funding for the Fitzroy North and Clifton Hill batteries was secured from the Victorian government’s Neighbourhood Battery Initiative, while the Richmond community battery is backed by funding from the federal government’s Community Batteries for Household Solar program.

And while similar to the Fitzroy North community battery, YEF plans to use these three new batteries to explore new ways to deliver additional value to the grid and communities through its partnership with Diamond Energy.