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Community Batteries

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How the Community Battery works

Participating customers can virtually store up to 10kWh of excess solar energy each day.

This excess energy is credited against their electricity use for that day.

The credit is calculated at the end of each day and paid to the participant each quarter via bank transfer. There are no costs to participate and customers don’t need to change their electricity retailer.

View key information in your language
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During the day your excess solar is stored up to 10kWH per day
Energy stored is credited against your energy use for that day
Each quarter you will receive a payment for credits from Ausgrid.

Project Research

To inform the development of Ausgrid’s community battery trial, Ausgrid conducted research that was focused on investigating the potential for locally based community batteries as alternative solutions to traditional local network investment. 

Sharing Community Batteries with Customers - Research Reports

Following on from the previous feasibility study,  Ausgrid engaged KPMG in 2021 to explore and provide recommendations on possible options to underpin a community battery storage service between customers, their retailer and community batteries. This work is informing elements being  tested within the Ausgrid Community Battery trial and it may provide insights for other projects and policies which seek to address broader priority areas such as local energy sharing and retail regulation.

The detailed findings and recommended solution from this latest piece of research is presented in KPMG’s Sharing Community Batteries with Customers Report. A summary of the key recommendation and implication insights from the research are provided in the Sharing Community Batteries with Customers – Summary Presentation.

Customer Survey Report 

To help inform the development of the Ausgrid Community Battery trial, a second phase of research was undertaken in July 2020 to measure Ausgrid customers’ knowledge and perceptions of community batteries, solar PV systems and home batteries. Around 900 Ausgrid customers with grid-connected solar PV or battery storage, and customers considering installing solar PV within the next 2 years were surveyed. Thank you to the customers who participated. You can read the results from the Customer Survey Report here.

Feasibility Report

The first stage of the research consisted of a feasibility study which was completed in February 2020. Ausgrid commissioned KPMG to explore solutions which offered a possible lower-cost alternative and more equitable access for customers compared to investing in individual home battery storage solutions.  The study assessed a range of technical, commercial and regulatory issues and concluded the community battery project initiative could be feasible within as little as 3-5 years. You can read the Feasibility Report here.