Australian energy generating and retailing major AGL Energy has unveiled plans to build a 16-strong fleet of 700 kW / 1,828 kWh battery energy storage systems across South Australia as part of the state government’s emPowering SA community battery project.
The new batteries will operate alongside the state government’s two recently commissioned 150 kW / 405 kWh battery energy storage systems in the Adelaide suburbs of Magill and Edwardstown, delivering 11.5 MW of flexible storage assets in total.
All 18 community batteries will be owned by the state government and operated by AGL alongside its existing multi-asset Virtual Power Plant (VPP) that includes about 25 MW of solar and 7,000, or 37 MW, of Tesla Powerwall home battery systems.
The South Australian government said the community battery fleet will maximise the local use of cheap solar, storing excess renewable energy from the grid when supply is abundant and making it available during peak demand periods. This mirrors the way individual household solar and battery systems function, but the program extends the benefits to households that are currently unable to access renewable energy technologies, ensuring a “more equitable energy transition.”
“South Australians who rent, or are on low or fixed incomes, have little opportunity to control their electricity bills by investing in renewable energy,” it said. “Solar panels and home batteries can be costly to install, and agreements with landlords can be difficult to arrange.”
“This ensures these South Australians are not locked out from accessing renewable energy technologies and the benefits it can provide.”
More than 10,000 social housing tenants and people experiencing financial hardship will be offered the chance to participate in the emPowering SA community battery project via an AGL energy plan that will be priced at 25% below the current SA default market offer (DMO). These offers will be made over time as the batteries roll out.
AGL Chief Customer Officer Jo Egan said the project builds upon the company’s recent acquisition of South Australia’s VPP from Tesla.
“It also forms part of AGL Community Power, a program that aims to find innovative ways to share the benefits of the energy transition including with those who do not have solar or batteries, or who may be locked out due to barriers to home ownership,” she said.
Egan said consumer energy resources like rooftop solar and battery energy storage systems play an important role in the energy transition and represent an increasing part of Australia’s total energy generation.
“If we can use these resources more effectively and efficiently, in ways like community batteries and virtual power plants, this will help us provide more affordable energy to some of the customers who need it the most,” she said.
The community battery project will take AGL, one of Australia’s biggest electricity and gas suppliers and the biggest coal power generator, closer to its 2027 target of 1.6 GW of batteries and rooftop solar capacity co-ordinated and managed by the utility. The figure stood at 1.25 GW as of the end of 2024.
The emPowering SA project is supported by approximately $11 million (USD 7.18 million) in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency as part of the Community Battery Program Round 1, with AGL investing $4 million.
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