{"id":90450,"date":"2025-03-17T14:44:30","date_gmt":"2025-03-17T05:14:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=90450"},"modified":"2025-03-17T17:32:53","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T08:02:53","slug":"community-battery-grants-worth-46-3m-up-for-grabs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/community-battery-grants-worth-46-3m-up-for-grabs\/","title":{"rendered":"Community Battery Grants Worth $46.3m Up For Grabs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The first battery installed under the Community Battery Funding program, located in Bexley North.<\/p><\/div>\n

Expressions of interest are now open for the $46.3m second round of a national funding program for community batteries. Here’s what it all means and how to apply.<\/p>\n

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The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) on March 17 opened EOIs for funding in the latest round of the $171m Community Batteries Funding Program.<\/p>\n

Chemical batteries between 50 kW to 5000 kW in size are eligible. Grants of between $5m to $20m are available for projects with ten batteries, with funding to not exceed 50% of the battery project cost.<\/p>\n

Batteries that are co-located or share a connection point are considered a single community battery.<\/p>\n

The first round saw conditional approval of $143m in funding to deploy 370 batteries, totalling 136 MW of power capacity and 281 MWh of energy storage capacity.<\/p>\n

Where Do Community Batteries Get Installed?<\/h2>\n

In a webinar held on March 17, ARENA manager Geoffery Erder said that most successful applications in round one “involved ground-mounted projects near parks and community facilities”.<\/p>\n

However some projects were installed on existing utility poles or purpose-built poles, offering the advantage of taking up less ground space.<\/p>\n

Network batteries were proposed as front-of-meter, located in public spaces like parks, power poles, or distribution substations.<\/p>\n

All the non-network batteries except one were behind-the-meter and were proposed at a range of facilities including aged care housing, farmland, sporting complexes, schools, shopping centres, showgrounds, caravan parks, train stations, carparks, libraries, swimming pools, a childcare centre, a vineyard, a hydro-electricity facility and a quarry.<\/p>\n

Erder added that although batteries at individual residential households will not be eligible for grant funding, “a block of units may be a different proposition”.<\/p>\n

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The percentage of projects approved in round one that aim to share community battery benefits in six different categories.<\/p><\/div>\n

Which Projects Have Already Been Backed?<\/h2>\n

Ausgrid installed the first community battery approved under the scheme, a 267kWh battery in Bexley North that supports local power reliability and is also connected to an electric vehicle charger.<\/p>\n

Another successful applicant in round one was GemLife, an organisation that offers “luxury resort living for the over-50s”. GemLife secured support for deploying 10 behind-the-meter batteries at a mix of 8 existing and greenfield over-50s communities across regional Queensland, NSW and Victoria.<\/p>\n

The batteries will be incorporated into a network alongside rooftop solar, supporting lower network demand charges, with estimated savings of between 64 \u2013 85% at existing sites in Maroochy Quays, Pacific Paradise and Woodend.<\/p>\n

GemLife will engage a service provider to operate the batteries in a VPP and access NEM market revenue sources, with the project including development of a real-time energy dashboard that publicises the battery performance and utility data.<\/p>\n

Another proposal plans to test the use of batteries to increase resilience of NBN, Telstra and public transport critical infrastructure. When back-up power isn’t required, the batteries will operate as normal, trading in energy and FCAS markets and facilitating increased solar generation. Communities are also expected to experience higher reliability of their mobile phone, NBN and rail services.<\/p>\n

One of the other projects includes a community battery\u00a0capable of providing emergency disaster support for a community refuge centre available during bushfires. The battery will also be equipped to provide EV charging during an emergency or power outages.<\/p>\n

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The number of community batteries conditionally approved by state and territory. Three batteries were announced for the ACT in 2024 although they were not referred to in the latest ARENA announcement.<\/p><\/div>\n

What Mistakes Should Applicants Avoid?<\/h2>\n

In the webinar I asked ARENA Director Leon Chanter what some of the biggest mistakes rejected applicants in the first round made that those throwing their hat in the ring should avoid.<\/p>\n

Chanter said that applications should outline the explicit benefits of the proposal to the network, the reduction of electricity costs, and to solar PV uptake.<\/p>\n

“It’s important that [the applicant] clearly demonstrate experience in delivering this kind of project, or a path to bringing in partners who have this capacity,” he said. “Also, a clear line of sight to finance, so we can have greater confidence the project can be built”.<\/p>\n

Later in the webinar, Chanter clarified that although lithium-ion batteries dominated the first round, other technologies could be eligible \u2014 in theory. “It would be possible for, say, a flow battery to participate, but they may struggle to be competitive with a higher capex,” he said.<\/p>\n

Who Can Apply?<\/h2>\n

To be eligible for funding, at the time of applying, your organisation must hold an Australian Business Number (ABN) and tick at least one of the following criteria:<\/p>\n