Community Batteries
Community Battery research
A community battery is an innovative solution that supports the decentralisation of the energy system and helps communities transition to more renewables by helping to stabilise the grid.
Ausgrid has conducted research on investigating the potential for locally based community batteries as alternative solutions to traditional local network investment. Ausgrid has trialled a customer storage service in our initial three site trial however market and regulatory processes need to change to facilitate this as a sustainable model at scale.
Following our trial phase, Ausgrid is continuing to explore new ways that community batteries can provide value to our customers, communities and the energy system.
Community Values in Community Batteries Research
In 2023, Ausgrid engaged RPS Group to examine the perceived benefits of community batteries that are important to customers. The study identified community benefits across a combination of financial, social and environmental value streams as well as in transparency on how the batteries operate. This research has informed the community model that we will be testing in our next six site community battery pilot.
Download the Community Values in Community Batteries Research Report.
Sharing Community Batteries with Customers - Research Reports
Following on from the previous feasibility study, Ausgrid engaged KPMG in 2021 to explore and provide recommendations on possible options to underpin a community battery storage service between customers, their retailer and community batteries. This work is informing elements being tested within the Ausgrid Community Battery trial and it may provide insights for other projects and policies which seek to address broader priority areas such as local energy sharing and retail regulation.
The detailed findings and recommended solution from this latest piece of research is presented in KPMG’s Sharing Community Batteries with Customers Report. A summary of the key recommendation and implication insights from the research are provided in the Sharing Community Batteries with Customers – Summary Presentation.
Customer Survey Report
To help inform the development of the Ausgrid Community Battery trial, a second phase of research was undertaken in July 2020 to measure Ausgrid customers’ knowledge and perceptions of community batteries, solar PV systems and home batteries. Around 900 Ausgrid customers with grid-connected solar PV or battery storage, and customers considering installing solar PV within the next 2 years were surveyed. Thank you to the customers who participated. You can read the results from the Customer Survey Report here.