Endeavour Energy’s Community Battery Rollout Continues

While home batteries have been stealing the limelight recently, community batteries are continuing to be rolled out and New South Wales electricity distributor Endeavour Energy has just installed another five.

Endeavour Energy had its hands full this week dealing with the fallout of severe weather¹. But last week, it was celebrating a more positive event – the first community batteries in the Blue Mountains. Five systems are operating in Blaxland, which is around 65 kilometres west of Sydney.

I couldn’t find any info on the make or capacity of these batteries, but collectively they will serve around 300 residents. Based on an earlier announcement, some are ground-mounted, and others on poles.

Community Battery Benefits

Aside from soaking up surplus solar energy from local system owners during the day for use during peak times,  among the other benefits of community batteries very generally speaking and depending on the approach:

• Providing access to energy storage for households not wanting to buy a home battery.
• Helping support more solar panel installations in the part of the network they are installed.
• Reducing curtailment of existing solar systems during the day.
• Supporting the increasing use of power-hungry devices, such as EV chargers.
• Helping to regulate voltage on the network.
• Avoiding/deferring expensive network upgrades.
• Adding downward pressure to wholesale electricity pricing during peak periods.

“Capturing and storing clean energy for customers to use when needed is essential for an effective and fair energy transition,” said Endeavour Energy’s Chief Customer & Strategy Officer, Leanne Pickering.

The Blaxland batteries are accessed through a special plan from EnergyAustralia, which says it provides lower energy costs for those customers. According to an announcement from Endeavour Energy in March this year, participating households can save up to $400 annually on electricity bills, but that’s compared to the NSW Default Market Offer (DMO). Households wanting to join don’t need to have rooftop solar or own their home.

“Your community produces rooftop solar energy where it’s needed, and with the community battery we make it available when it’s needed – all managed as part of our Virtual Power Plant,” says EnergyAustralia.

More Batteries To Come

The Blaxland installations have been possible through a partnership between Endeavour and the Federal Government that involves installation of 44 batteries across selected suburbs in Greater Western Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Southern Highlands, and the Illawarra. The Albanese Government’s Community Batteries for Household Solar program will ultimately see 400 community batteries installed across Australia.

But it doesn’t stop there for Endeavour Energy. It has delivered/is delivering another 32 batteries with support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), and a further 10 across Bargo, Blair Athol, Bungarribee, Cambewarra, East Bowral, Hammondville, Kiama Downs, Shell Cove, St Georges Basin and Macquarie Fields under its own steam.

Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill welcomed the new additions in Blaxland.

“It’s a vital step in building a more resilient and sustainable energy future for our residents and businesses,” Cr Greenhill said. “Our residents trust us to take meaningful climate action, and supporting infrastructure like this battery is a key part of delivering on our sustainability commitments.”

Mayor Greenhill is pictured above beside Endeavour Energy’s first ground-mount community battery in the Blue Mountains, which features artwork by Gundungurra artist Kelsie King.

You can learn more about Endeavour Energy’s community battery rollout here.

On a related note, solar panel installations in Blaxland have been moving along at a decent clip, with more than 2,177 small-scale systems (<100 kW) installed with a collective capacity of 13,214 kW as at May 31, 2025. But that tally is just a drop in the bucket compared to the 290,000 residential solar connections, industrial solar and embedded large-scale batteries across Endeavour’s network.