{"id":68987,"date":"2022-12-19T06:57:51","date_gmt":"2022-12-18T20:27:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=68987"},"modified":"2022-12-19T06:57:51","modified_gmt":"2022-12-18T20:27:51","slug":"community-big-batteries-mb2757","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/community-big-batteries-mb2757\/","title":{"rendered":"Bowen’s Community And Big Battery Blitz: More Details"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Community<\/p>\n

Buzz about batteries was again stirred up over the weekend by Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen. Here’s what’s happening.<\/p>\n

Community Battery Rollout – Next Steps<\/h2>\n

One of the Albanese Government’s election commitments was a $200 million investment over four years to deliver large batteries to around 400 communities; part of Labor’s Powering Australia plan<\/a>. Mr. Bowen went on a pledging spree<\/a> in the lead-up to the election, promising a bunch of communities one of these batteries.<\/p>\n

But there will be some hoops for these communities and their Distributed Network Service Providers (DNSPs) to jump through. On the weekend, Minister Bowen announced the release of grant guidelines for the first 58 batteries promised.<\/p>\n

The guidelines have been released in advance of applications opening on 30 January 2023. Guidelines for the first two streams are available here (Stream 1)<\/a> and here (Stream 2)<\/a>. Grants between $100,000 and $500,000 will be available per eligible location, providing $1,000 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of battery storage capacity and up to 100% of eligible project expenditure.<\/p>\n

As for the other 342 community batteries, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) will develop a program to deliver them after a stakeholder consultation process.<\/p>\n

Commenting on the initiative, Minister Bowen said<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cOne in every three Australian households have solar panels \u2013 the highest rate in the world \u2013 but far fewer have batteries to store their energy for later use. Community batteries can do this while also allowing stored energy to be shared with others who can\u2019t install rooftop solar.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

More Bucks For Big Batteries<\/h2>\n

Also announced on Saturday was a $176 million dollar investment to support eight big batteries across the country under the Australian Renewable Energy Agency\u2019s (ARENA’s) Large Scale Battery Storage Funding Round<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The new battery projects to receive funding:<\/p>\n