Western Power is looking to invest in larger community batteries in Perth’s suburban areas to support the continued integration of renewable energy into its network.
Executive Manager of Asset Management, Gair Landsborough, said consultation was underway with communities powered by Western Power’s Waikiki and Southern River zone substations, including the Baldivis community, to determine the best location for these batteries. These areas have been chosen due to their high uptake of rooftop solar.
“The 1.34 MW batteries proposed for installation are approximately the size of a small shipping container and will be housed in purpose-built enclosures to minimise any potential noise,” Mr Landsborough said.
“As part of our drive to a low carbon future, this is one of a number of innovative measures being implemented and investigated to futureproof the network to ensure the long-term delivery of sustainable, safe, affordable and reliable power supply for our customers,” he said.
“With a high amount of solar generation on mild sunny days in spring and autumn, demand on the grid can be low and community batteries are one way to help store solar generation, balancing load and optimising grid stability.”
Mr Landsborough said these batteries will store the energy from solar generation for use during peak demand during summer, particularly during prolonged heatwaves.
“Community batteries are a way of the future and benefit the entire community – whether residents have solar power or not.”
“These state of the art batteries, which will be owned and maintained by Western Power, convert electrical energy into chemical energy, and then change it back to electricity when it is needed.
“We’re listening to the community and will work with them as we implement this innovative technology that will help stabilise the grid and support further uptake of rooftop solar.”
The rollout of community batteries is a key action of the State Government’s Distributed Energy Resources Roadmap.
This image is for size illustration only as the visual aspect will be part of consultation.