Households in Maloneys Beach, Leeton and Goulburn in New South Wales are set for relief on their power bills and improved energy reliability, with three new community batteries installed.
Each battery, installed by Essential Energy under the Federal Government’s energy initiatives, can produce 192 kilowatts of power and store 530 kilowatt-hours of energy, allowing excess rooftop solar to be stored during the day and distributed during peak times.
The initiative is part of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s Community Batteries for Household Solar program, which is designed to ensure all Australians benefit from renewable energy, regardless of whether they have solar panels or home battery systems.
According to the Federal Government, this program will deliver direct cost-of-living relief, with eligible households receiving an annual $75 discount on their energy bills for five years, applied as a direct credit.
Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen highlighted the long-term impact community batteries have on the energy grid.
“We’re bringing cleaner, cheaper and more reliable renewable energy to communities right across Australia, including Maloneys Beach, Leeton and Goulburn,” Bowen said.
“The rain doesn’t always fall, but we always have water on tap because we store it for when we need it. Community batteries will do the same thing with reliable and affordable renewable energy.”
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