Australian distribution network company Endeavour Energy has launched a new community battery in East Bowral, New South Wales.
The delivery of this community battery, located about 2km east of the rural town of Bowral, marks the completion of the company’s initial community battery stream, which totals 10 battery energy storage systems (BESS), which have been provided in collaboration with Origin Energy.
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These are located in Bargo, Blair Athol, Bungarribee, Cambewarra, East Bowral, Hammondville, Kiama Downs, Shell Cove, St Georges Basin and Macquarie Fields.
Despite this achievement, Endeavour Energy is set to continue rolling out community batteries across New South Wales. The group is working in tandem with the Australian government to deploy 76 systems across 33 suburbs in New South Wales.
These will be delivered through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s (ARENA) Community Batteries for Household Solar programme. The wider initiative plans to install 400 community batteries nationwide.
This scheme has supported several Australian organisations deploying community BESS nationwide, including energy infrastructure company Jemena, network company Ausgrid and not-for-profit consultancy Yarra Energy Foundation.
Endeavour Energy’s general manager of Future Grid and Asset Management, Colin Crisafulli, said deploying community batteries helps leverage Australia’s installed rooftop solar PV generation capacity.
“Community batteries make the transition to clean energy more inclusive and affordable for everyone – whether you own your home, rent, or live in an apartment, all households can ‘rent a portion’ of the battery to save money on their overall electricity bill,” Crisafulli said.
“Community batteries also help reduce the overall cost of running the electricity network and enable us to manage solar energy safely and efficiently.”
Community batteries have become increasingly prominent in Australia, primarily because the country has the world’s highest solar energy generation per capita. Rooftop solar PV generation surpassed coal-fired generation at the end of 2024 and recently reached the 25GW mark.
This can also present financial opportunities for the local community, whilst also providing social benefits, such as education on Australia’s energy system.
Earlier this year, Yarra Energy Foundation said its Fitzroy North community BESS in Victoria generated AU$8,423 (US$5,272) in revenue, excluding goods and services tax (GST), for the 2023-24 financial year. The group discussed its findings within a guest blog on Energy-Storage.news in February 2025.
Victoria launches the third round of its neighbourhood BESS initiative
Meanwhile, just south of New South Wales, Victoria has launched the third round of its 100 Neighbourhood Batteries Program, which is being backed by AU$6.6 million in funding.
Through the Neighbourhood Battery Initiative grant programme, the Victorian state government is offering up to AU$400,000 per project to applicants who can demonstrate multi-use case applications for a BESS.
A total of AU$42 million is available for relevant projects under the programme.
The initiative covers systems that include a neighbourhood battery, solar PV, a generator, and a management system. Each battery must have a minimum size of 20kW/40kWh and a maximum size of 5MW/20MWh.
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