The Albanese Government has launched a new community battery in North Epping, New South Wales as part of its Community Batteries for Household Solar program.
The Government said the battery, built by Ausgrid, will support energy security, grid reliability and put downward pressure on electricity bills.
“It’s incredibly exciting to deliver a community battery for North Epping today, our Reliable Renewables plan is bringing cleaner, cheaper reliable renewable energy to communities across the country,” Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said.
According to the Government, while one in three Australian households have rooftop solar, less than one in 40 have battery storage. The program will roll out 400 community batteries nationally to allow households to store excess rooftop solar and dispatch it when needed.
“The rain doesn’t always fall, but we always have water on tap because we store it for when we need it – batteries like the one in North Epping do the same thing for reliable renewable energy,” Bowen said.
Jerome Laxale, the Member for Bennelong, welcomed the battery’s activation, saying his community “cares about taking real action on climate change and working towards a more sustainable and renewable future”.
“Facilities like this will assist with Australia’s clean energy transformation and will accelerate our transition away from fossil fuels. This is the future,” Laxale said.
The Albanese Government aims for an 82 per cent renewable grid by 2030, supported by gas, storage and transmission under its Reliable Renewables plan.
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