Melbourne’s First Community Battery is Now Live

This week, the City of Melbourne took a huge stride towards their goal of becoming 100% renewable, switching on the inaugural Power Melbourne battery at Council House. It has long been a goal of the City of Melbourne to deliver the benefits of renewable energy to residents and businesses and this is one of the first steps in achieving that ambitious goal. As a business in this municipality with an interest in sustainability, the project is of particular significance. 

The City of Melbourne has partnered with the University of Melbourne and RMIT University to deliver Power Melbourne, a flagship project committed to seeing Melbourne power the city with 100% renewable energy by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2040. After the pilot phase, which emphasizes local renewable initiatives, the focus will pivot towards making affordable renewable electricity more accessible.

During the pilot phase, Power Melbourne will see three battery energy storage systems installed and coordinated across the city. The batteries with a combined capacity of 450kw/1MWh will be installed around Melbourne, with the remaining batteries installed at Library at the Dock and Boyd Community Hub. Each battery will be adorned with bespoke artwork by local Melbourne creatives, with the first battery sporting the phrase “Let’s get energised” by contemporary artist Mysterious AI. 

Community batteries are important as they allow for renewable, distributed energy to be stored when there is excess, which can then be released into the system when needed. This is a more reliable and equitable solution than what the city of Melbourne residents currently experience. Equity is a crucial aspect to tackling the climate crisis and to transition away from fossil fuel reliance. Most of the City of Melbourne’s residents are people who rent or live in apartments where installing solar panels is difficult, so a key part of this initiative is to provide solutions and access to the benefits of renewable energy to people who would not be able to gain access otherwise. For example, our office is located on Level 1 of a 5 story building with significant heritage overlays (Mitchell House), making it near impossible to access renewable energy individually.

In the near future, Power Melbourne will offer a retail option for residents and businesses to directly purchase locally-generated, cheaper, renewable energy. It is the intention that this model will create more energy efficient urban communities that are sustainable, affordable and reliable.