Podcasts

SwitchedOn podcast: The first question to ask if you want to install a community battery

Published by

In the second episode of our series of interviews with community energy groups installing batteries – So you want to install a community battery – we speak to Lachlan Hensey, the energy and storage project lead for Yarra Energy Foundation (YEF), one of the few community energy groups in Australia to successfully install a community battery.

While most so-called ‘community batteries’ are actually installed by electricity networks, YEF navigated the significant financial, regulatory and system hurdles community groups face to make theirs a reality.

He shares how they did it, the challenges they overcame, and why defining the problem the battery is supposed to solve is key to designing a successful project.

https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/2062770456

Anne Delaney is the host of the SwitchedOn podcast and our Electrification Editor. She has had a successful career in journalism (the ABC and SBS), as a documentary film maker, and as an artist and sculptor.

Anne Delaney

Anne Delaney is the host of the SwitchedOn podcast and our Electrification Editor. She has had a successful career in journalism (the ABC and SBS), as a documentary film maker, and as an artist and sculptor.

Share
Published by

Recent Posts

Kudos where it’s due: Australia’s quiet role electrifying the rallying cry for the COP we never got to host

The "35 by 35" electrification goal has an Australian origin that the government seems to…

9 October 2026

The Queensland LNP plan for coal-powered data centres could cost taxpayers $20 billion a pop

If we fail to ensure data centres pay for new renewables and storage to cover…

9 October 2026

Home batteries and time-of-use tariffs may be best combination to steer households away from evening peaks

Home batteries look like resetting the behaviour of households when it comes to responding to…

9 October 2026

South Australia may reach its 100 pct net renewables target a year or two late, but it won’t be the fault of households

South Australia energy minister hints that the 100 pct net renewables target may not be…

9 October 2026

Australia’s first transmission loop between three states set to “fundamentally change” flow of electricity

Australia's first major transmission loop is now operating, and will be at full capacity by…

9 October 2026

Energy Insiders podcast: The High Court ruling on climate damage

Former EDO boss and now Greens MLC Sue Higginson on the huge implications of the…

9 October 2026