Cameron Park Community Battery

11 August 2022

Lake Macquarie secures first community battery outside of Sydney

Ausgrid has unveiled its first community battery outside Sydney at Cameron Park in Lake Macquarie, which will harness and store solar power from local homes, providing savings on energy costs and allowing more renewable energy into the grid.

Ausgrid Chief Customer Officer Rob Amphlett Lewis welcomed Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen, Member for the Hunter Dan Repacholi to Lake Macquarie today to view the progress of the new project.

“It is exciting to be extending our community battery trial to Lake Macquarie. Sharing really is better and I’m confident this trial will transform the way solar energy is stored, reduce residents’ costs and support decarbonisation of the grid,” Mr Amphlett Lewis said.

“The Albanese Government is committed to rolling out more than 400 community batteries across the nation. This significant investment is part of the Government’s Powering Australia policy, that will increase the amount of clean and reliable energy in our grid,” Mr Bowen said.

Community batteries work by allowing multiple households in the local area to share a storage system for the excess energy generated by solar panels. It is a big step towards increasing the amount of clean energy which goes into the grid.

“Initial findings from our two Sydney based batteries are promising. They show community batteries can be a viable solution to enabling households to be part of the energy sector transition. They bring renewable energy into the grid, and we believe the more of these that can be rolled out in NSW and Australia, the better,” Mr Amphlett Lewis said.

“Community batteries are cheaper for the customer, better for the community and greener for the grid. It’s a win, win, win.”

Member for the Hunter Dan Repacholi said he was excited his community had been selected to take part in the community battery trial.

“It is great news that the first battery outside of Sydney is here, right in the Hunter electorate. The Hunter has been the powerhouse of NSW for the last century, and we will continue to be the powerhouse of NSW with projects like this. I would encourage residents in Cameron Park take a look at the Battery and see if they are eligible to access the trial.”

The Cameron Park community battery is the third battery installed as part of a trial being run by Ausgrid, which allows participants in the trial to virtually store their excess solar power, the first of its kind on Australia’s east coast.

For more information about community batteries and to register your interest visit our website.