Community battery switched on in Alphington

Energy infrastructure company, Jemena, is making locally generated renewable energy available to more homes and businesses through four community batteries now operating in its electricity network in Melbourne’s north-west.

Jemena’s community battery in Alphington is now switched on at Pitcher Park, with community batteries in Bellfield, Coburg and Flemington installed in 2025.

The community batteries are supported by the Australian Government’s Community Batteries for Household Solar program.

Jemena’s General Manager, Customer and Commercial, Sandra Centofanti said community batteries help stabilise the electricity grid while enabling more homes in Melbourne’s north-west to install rooftop solar.

“Over the next ten years the number of our electricity customers with rooftop solar is set to double from 19 percent to around 40 percent. Installing community batteries in areas with a high uptake of rooftop solar is one of the ways we are preparing our network for the future,” Ms Centofanti said.

Origin Energy is Jemena's retail partner for the four community batteries. Origin manages each battery through its virtual power plant, allowing the battery to charge when renewable energy is plentiful and discharge to support the grid during peak times.

Homes and businesses on the same low-voltage network as the community batteries automatically access the energy they store through their existing electricity supply without having to change retailers.

Each battery has around 400kWh of storage which is the same amount of energy used by around 165 homes for two hours at night.

A number of factors were considered when choosing the locations for the community batteries including electricity network constraints in the area, safety, environmental factors, and projected growth of solar installations.

The community battery locations were selected in consultation with local councils. Local residents and community groups were also engaged as part of the project and had their say on the look and position of the batteries.

“A community reference group was established made up of residents and representatives from community groups and sports clubs located near each battery site. Members had a say on the position of the batteries and helped select the artwork,” Ms Centofanti said.

“We also engaged local households and businesses through letterbox drops, surveys, and online information sessions.”

The community batteries are one of a number of projects underway that will allow more export of solar energy back into the grid across Jemena’s electricity network.

“The amount of solar energy that can be exported back into the grid within our electricity network has grown by more than 90 percent from levels seen in 2020,” Ms Centofanti said.

“This was achieved through an optimisation program aimed at ensuring the network is equipped to host additional solar energy with no impact to the power supply customers rely on each day.

“This is part of our work to build the energy system of the future; one which supports our customers to lower their emissions, and delivers energy reliably and safely.”