Flinders Community Battery
Flinders Community Battery
The Flinders Community Battery has been installed at 54-56 Cook Street Flinders.
Following three years of community climate action by Flinders Zero Carbon Community, in 2023 Mornington Peninsula Shire applied for and was awarded a $500,000 grant through the Australian Government’s Community Batteries for Household Solar Program. The battery will officially be launched on 29 October 2024 by the Hon Josh Wilson MP, Assistant Minister Climate Change and Energy, Australian Government.
About the Project:
Flinders Zero Carbon Community (FZCC) hosted community forums, commissioned a feasibility study and undertook advocacy efforts to build a strong local appetite for energy transition efforts.
The Shire supported their efforts by applying for the grant, managing the project and owning and operating the battery once commissioned.
The 360kWh battery is capable of supporting up to 100 households and will act as a solar sponge, storing excess solar in the daytime for evening use. The battery will help localise energy, allow more properties to install solar panels and export that energy and reduce Flinders emissions. The estimated emissions reduction is 22.8 tonnes of CO2e/year.
Any revenue generated from the battery will flow to a Community Benefit Fund administered by Repower Mornington Peninsula to subsidise solar for less advantaged households on the Peninsula.
Project Delivery Partners
The battery was delivered with the help of the following organisations:
Australian Government, FZCC, Yarra Energy Foundation, Acacia Energy, Pixii Batteries, CFA
Artwork Competition
Local indigenous Artists were invited to submit artworks in a competition to decorate the battery. All 4 entrants received a payment of $400 for these submissions – with three payments going to The Torch – an organisation supporting the incarcerated indigenous Australians and those recently released from prison to help to establish themselves again in life.
Winning Artist: Glenn Shaw
Glenn is a proud Bunurong (Victoria) and Plangermairreenner (Tasmania) Aboriginal man, strongly connected to Community and Culture. Glenn was born on Flinders Island, Tasmania in 1958 and started painting as a teenager.
Artwork: Bush Currant
The Bush Currant grows in the coastal zone all around the country. There are a number of varieties and colours which include Red, which are often found in North Queensland and the White/Yellow variety which are found in Victoria, Tasmania and across to Western Australia. The Currant is a small berry with a number of seeds, very sweet taste and has a high vitamin C level.
They flower during the Bunurong Seasons of Garrawang (December) and Bidarep (January-February). The Artwork also depicts 2 campsites where those collecting the seeds were camping, 2 waterholes/springs which represent the Bunurong connection to water with the remaining 7 circles depicting the 7 Seasons of the Kulin Nation being Bidarep (Dry Season January – February), Lum (Eel Season – March), Waring (Wombat Season - April – July), Guling (Orchid Season – August< Poorneet (Tadpole Season – September – October), Buarth (Guru Grass Flowering Season – November) and Garrawang (Kangaroo Apple Season – December). The 5 colours in the circles represent the 5 main apical ancestor groups of the Bunurong people.
Flinders CB Bulk Buy:
During the final stages of the Battery installation a Solar Bulk Buy was run in Flinders with All Electric Homes to encourage more homeowners to install solar and electrify their homes. As a result of the Bulk Buy a total of 10 solar installs, (Total PV size 112.2kw), 1 battery, 4 induction stoves, 12 Hot Water Heat Pumps, 2 Reverse Cycle Air Conditioners, 2 EV Chargers and 1 pool Heat Pump were installed.
Cumulatively adding up to 145.45T CO2e reductions and community savings of $37,308.
If the homes connected to this low voltage network with the battery all install solar it will enable more of the community it to take advantage of all that increased solar in the network.
Mornington Peninsula Shire was awarded $500,000 via a federal grant, through the Community Batteries for Household Solar Program. The grant will fully fund the cost and installation of the battery.
This follows three years of hard work by Flinders Zero Carbon Community; hosting community forums, commissioning a feasibility study, undertaking advocacy efforts and the development and presentation of ‘A Road Map To Carbon Zero’ to a community forum attended by over 90 residents. This event demonstrated the strong local appetite for energy transition efforts.
About the project
The Flinders Community Battery project will install and operate a 360kWh battery, which is estimated to support 75-100 households, allow increased grid capacity for more local solar installations, and generate revenue to subsidise solar for low-income households. The estimated emissions reduction is 22.8 tonnes of CO2e/year.
Community batteries, also called ‘neighbourhood batteries’, work like a solar sponge. They are a safe, reliable, and sustainable energy solution for shared energy storage. They store excess solar energy in the daytime for evening use. They can help reduce emissions, localise energy, and allow more properties to install solar panels and export that energy.
The battery’s revenue is expected to cover the operational costs of the battery, and any additional profits will flow to a “community benefit fund” administered by Repower Mornington Peninsula, which Flinders Zero Carbon Community is a satellite group of. The fund could be used to support more solar in vulnerable communities or other renewable projects that assist tenants or those unable to install solar themselves. This will be determined in consultation with Repower and the Flinders Community Reference Group.
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