A total of 88 Tesla Powerwall 3 batteries will be rolled out across 22 Salvation Army sites as part of the Victorian government’s $42 million Neighbourhood Battery Program, with the round two winners announced on Monday adding batteries at 65 new locations across the state.
The Neighbourhood Battery Program was launched in mid-2023 with the aim of rolling out 100 community batteries by providing up to $300,000 in project funding per battery.
Victoria’s minister for energy and resources Lily D’Ambrosio announced on Monday recipients of the second round of grants, with a total of 65 new battery locations to be built by August.
Among the recipients is Christian charitable organisation the Salvation Army, which is receiving funding for the installation of 88 batteries across 22 sites including foodbanks, domestic violence refuges, emergency crisis accommodation and community centres.
Once all of the batteries are up and operational, the Victorian government expects the Salvation Army will save up to $790,000 in energy bills, money that it will be able to invest back into the community.
The batteries located at Salvation Army locations will also be able to provide backup power during severe weather events when some of the organisation’s sites are used to offer emergency support to vulnerable Victorians.
AGL Energy, which has been working with the Salvation Army for five years on an energy decarbonisation program, says it has already installed solar at most of the locations chosen for batteries.
AGL says the battery systems will be made up of four Tesla Powerwall 3 [44.14kW / 54kWh] across the 22 individual sites – amounting to a combined total of 968kW / 1188 kWh.
“The Salvation Army plays an incredibly important role in our community and are very deserving recipients
of this grant,” AGL group general manager, electrification and innovation, Ryan Warburton, said.
“Projects like this from the Victorian government are helping to address this issue and increase the uptake
of consumer energy resources like batteries, which play a very critical role in this once-in-a-lifetime energy
transition,” Warburton said.
Other recipients of state funding include Housing Choices Australia sites across Melbourne, Koo Wee Rup Community Centre, Venus Bay Community Centre and Trafalgar Recreation Reserve in Gippsland, Reefton Fire Station in the Yarra Ranges, and Pyalong Recreation Reserve Hall in Central Victoria.
Neighbourhood batteries are capable of soaking up renewable energy during periods of low demand but high generation – such as from rooftop solar during the day – and feed it back into homes or organisations when needed, or back into the grid when usage is high.
The batteries can also be paired with solar to provide additional backup power to many of these buildings so they can act as community hubs during prolonged power outages.
“Victoria is the home of batteries – which soak-up cheap renewable energy during the day to drive down bills for Victorian families,” said Lily D’Ambrosio.
“These batteries will also help keep the power flowing to essential services like the Salvation Army during extreme weather events so that Victorians can continue to access the help and assistance they need.”
