More communities will be able to harness the power of rooftop solar generation – improving their energy reliability and lowering their bills – by connecting to a neighbourhood battery delivered by the Andrews Labor Government.

Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio officially opened the 100 Neighbourhood Batteries Program today and announced the successful recipients of neighbourhood batteries under the third round of the $10.92 million Neighbourhood Battery Initiative (NBI).

Round three of the NBI has funded nine projects, including eight business cases and the implementation-ready Alphington Community Battery project.

The battery, to be delivered by community-owned social enterprise Village Power with Darebin Council, will have 300kWh of storage capacity to support about 100 households with solar panels.

Neighbourhood batteries soak up cheap renewable energy when it is plentiful and dispatch it when it is needed most. They are not just for households with solar, which means renters and apartment residents will benefit from them too.

The first round of grants under the Labor Government’s $42.2 million 100 Neighbourhood Battery Program is now open – with grants available to public entities, private businesses and agencies, educational institutions, local government, co-operatives, and not-for-profit organisations.

The first round of batteries will make available $10 million in grant funding, with up to $300,000 project funding available per battery.

As part of the Labor Government’s promise to Victorians at last year’s election, neighbourhood batteries have already been allocated to 29 local government areas so far through the program.

Victoria’s neighbourhood batteries are a vital step towards meeting our nation-leading renewable energy storage targets of 2.6 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 and 6.3 GW by 2035 – enough renewable energy to power around half of Victoria’s current homes at their peak energy use and reduce emissions by 75 to 80 per cent by 2035.

To apply visit, energy.vic.gov.au/grants/neighbourhood-batteries/neighbourhood-batteries-100.

Quote attributable to Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio

“We’re investing in even more batteries through the 100 Neighbourhood Batteries Program – unlocking more rooftop solar generation and spreading the benefits of local renewable energy even further.”

Quote attributable to Member for Northcote Kat Theophanous

“The Alphington community is embracing solar technology and this new battery will take it to a whole new level, with renewable energy shared amongst neighbours, lowering bills and cutting emissions.”