30 October 2024

Social housing tenants will get energy bill relief through the storage and timely use of cheaper and cleaner solar energy with the launch of the Edwardstown and Magill Community Batteries today.

While one in three Australian households have already embraced rooftop solar and are accessing cleaner and cheaper energy, fewer than one in 40 households have battery storage.

The Community Batteries for Household Solar program is about empowering communities to share in the renewable energy transformation, whether they have rooftop solar or not.

That is why the Australian Government is rolling out more than 420 community batteries across the country.

Two 405 kWh battery energy storage systems, in Edwardstown and Magill, have been installed by the South Australian Department for Energy and Mining.

The first in a fleet of community batteries planned for installation across metropolitan and regional South Australia, these two batteries will see eligible 600 SA Housing Trust households that take part in the exclusive energy plan save around $550 a year through a retail tariff 25% below the Default Market Offer in SA.

Around 10,000 SA Housing Trust tenants will ultimately benefit from the tariff reduction through community batteries.

Work is underway to identify suitable sites across South Australia for more community batteries that have conditional approval granted and agreements pending with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), which is delivering $171 million of the $200 million Community Batteries for Household Solar program.