Community batteries (also known as neighbourhood batteries) store energy, often soaking up power generated by rooftop solar during the day. The energy is then shared with nearby homes and businesses through their existing electricity supply, this often occurs at night when there is more demand on the electricity grid.

Community batteries are one small part of a broader renewable energy transition and are another step towards reducing emissions across Victoria.

Jemena is an electricity distribution company. We own, operate and maintain the electricity network in north-west Melbourne, including the poles, wires, meters and the technology that sits behind them, to ensure a safe and reliable electricity supply. The Jemena Electricity Network distributes electricity to over 370,000 customers. Learn more about Jemena at www.jemena.com.au

Yarra Energy Foundation (YEF) is an independent not-for-profit organisation with an ambition to build a cleaner energy system.

YEF exists to connect people to better energy by bringing government, industry, and community together to deliver innovative solutions for energy emissions reductions. Learn more about YEF at www.yef.org.au

Jemena is partnering with YEF to engage and communicate with the residents and businesses where the community batteries will be located.

The community batteries are part of Jemena’s work to prepare its electricity network for an increase in rooftop solar. As more residents and businesses install rooftop solar this can impact the voltage on our network as more energy is fed back into the grid. By installing community batteries in neighbourhoods with a large amount of rooftop solar, the batteries can help soak up the additional energy that is being exported into the grid during the day. Jemena is also carrying out other projects to prepare its electricity grid for the future. Learn more here.

Jemena will own and manage the four community batteries it is installing in Alphington, Bellfield, Coburg and Flemington in Victoria. However not all community batteries are owned by electricity distributors.

Community batteries can also be owned by community energy groups, electricity retailers, aggregators or private investors.

Each community battery will be connected to a ‘low voltage network’. A low voltage network provides electricity to around 100-300 premises within the same neighbourhood.

The community batteries will charge during the day when there is often a peak in solar generation and surplus solar energy available. They will then begin discharging later in the day when there is a higher demand on the network as more people are at home using electricity and solar generation has reduced.

Each battery will have around 360kWh of storage which is the same amount of energy used by around 150 homes for two hours at night.

Residents and businesses don't have to connect to the battery, in fact, they don't need to do anything at all. Residents and businesses on the same low-voltage network as the community battery will automatically access the energy it stores through their existing electricity supply. Just like the poles and wires that connect to homes and businesses - there is no sign-up process required.

There will be no impact to residents and businesses’ electricity bill.

For residents and businesses with rooftop solar there will be no changes to how they currently use or export solar power back into the electricity grid.

For each community battery site Jemena conducted a thorough site identification and selection process over several months in consultation with the local council. To operate effectively and to meet the objectives of the Australian Government’s Community Batteries for Household Solar Program a number of factors were considered including electricity network constraints in the area, safety, environmental factors, and projected growth of solar installations.

Jemena and YEF will work with local communities to get feedback and ideas about what the community batteries will look like. Community batteries can be painted with a mural or artwork or they can also be covered by a screen to reduce the visual impact.

The community batteries will not act as a back-up during power outages. They will be connected to the electricity grid so if there is a power outage the batteries will automatically switch off.

The community batteries will be approximately 4.6m long and 1.5m deep. Each battery will have around 400kWh of storage which is the same amount of energy used by around 165 homes for two hours at night.

The battery does make some noise, however it’s very quiet. The two sources of noise are the air-conditioning fans which help to cool or heat the battery to improve efficiency. The second source is the sound of the inverter, which produces a hum. All four batteries comply with the Environmental Protection Authority’s noise guidelines.

Our community batteries meet international and national safety standards as well as best practice safety guidelines. Jemena will work with our partners to deliver and maintain community batteries under the same unconditional commitment to safety as we do for any of our network assets.

The batteries have remote monitoring capabilities and will be monitored by Jemena's 24/7 control room. If abnormal conditions are detected, the battery and power conversion equipment will disconnect to mitigate any risks to households and the local electricity network. We are also responsible for maintaining and cleaning our four community batteries.

Electromagnetic field (EMF) levels will be within Jemena's existing network standards and guidelines recommended by Australia’s health authorities.

No, a community battery does not operate like a home battery. Residents will still need a home battery if they would like to store the energy generated from their own rooftop solar to use at another time.

The community batteries will be installed in 2025

To provide feedback you can:

• Complete a short survey: www.gridtalk.com.au/community-batteries-survey
• Contact us directly at communitybatteries@Jemena.com.au
• Submit an expression of interest (EOI) to join a Community Reference Group by emailing communitybatteries@Jemena.com.au

Jemena will be working with YEF to facilitate a Community Reference Group which will meet and:

• be involved in the artwork or visual treatment of the battery
• be involved in naming the battery
• be involved in the decisions around vegetation/planting (if required)
• be consulted on how profits, if any, could be redistributed locally.

If you are interested in joining the Community Reference Group, please email communitybatteries@Jemena.com.au to request the Terms of Reference and submit your Expression of Interest. Places are limited and will be selected by Jemena in consultation with YEF.