Charging Up Victorian Energy Bill Savings
The Victorian government is expanding its neighborhood battery initiative to more suburbs and towns, aimed at reducing power bills, increasing solar energy utilization on rooftops, and providing backup power during extreme weather events. Minister for Energy and Resources, Lily D’Ambrosio, recently visited the Salvation Army Box Hill, one of the 65 new battery locations announced as part of the second round of the $42 million Neighborhood Battery Program.
The Salvation Army will install batteries across 22 sites, including food banks, domestic violence refuges, emergency crisis accommodations, drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, and community centers. These batteries are expected to generate $790,000 in energy bill savings and additional income, which will be reinvested into community services. Furthermore, the batteries will provide backup power to Salvation Army sites during severe weather events when these locations are critical for offering emergency support to vulnerable Victorians.
Neighborhood batteries can collect inexpensive, renewable energy from rooftop solar panels during the day and distribute it back to connected homes or organizations at night, when energy demand is higher. Other locations for neighborhood batteries include Housing Choices Australia sites across Melbourne, the Koo Wee Rup Community Centre, Venus Bay Community Centre, Trafalgar Recreation Reserve in Gippsland, Reefton Fire Station in the Yarra Ranges, and Pyalong Recreation Reserve Hall in Central Victoria, among many others.
These neighborhood batteries, when paired with solar power, can serve as backup power sources for these buildings, allowing them to function as community hubs during prolonged outages. The initiative will help Victoria achieve its goal of at least 2.6 GW of energy storage by 2030 and 6.3 GW by 2035—enough energy to power approximately half of the homes in Victoria.
Additionally, the government is supporting First Peoples corporations and organizations in accessing the benefits of neighborhood batteries through the First Peoples’ Solar and Storage Initiative. This initiative, jointly funded with the Albanese Labor Government, aims to provide more solar and battery storage to harness renewable energy and keep power prices affordable.
Currently, there are 90 neighborhood battery projects across metropolitan and regional Victoria. For a complete list of neighborhood battery locations, please visit energy.vic.gov.au/grants/neighbourhood-batteries.
As stated by Minister Lily D’Ambrosio, “Victoria is the home of batteries—soaking up cheap renewable energy during the day to drive down bills for Victorian families.” She also emphasized that these batteries will ensure continuous power to essential services like the Salvation Army during extreme weather events, allowing Victorians to access the help they need.
Member for Box Hill Paul Hamer added, “It’s great to see communities directly benefiting from the lower bills provided by affordable, renewable solar energy being harnessed by these new neighborhood batteries.”
Original article by NenPower, If reposted, please credit the source: https://nenpower.com/blog/victoria-expands-neighbourhood-battery-program-to-reduce-energy-bills-and-enhance-community-resilience/
