Western Australia is strengthening its position as a national leader in battery storage, with construction now underway on 18 new community batteries.
Installed by Western Power, the batteries will deliver a combined 6.6MW of storage capacity, helping capture excess rooftop solar generation during the day and release it during periods of higher evening demand.
The 13 low-voltage and five medium-voltage batteries, backed by the Albanese and Cook Labor Governments, are expected to be operational by mid-2027 and will support lower system-wide costs, reduced emissions and improved grid stability.
The locations, selected in consultation with local governments and local communities, include 13 sites across Perth and five sites in Bunbury, targeting areas with high levels of rooftop solar uptake and growing demand for local energy storage.
Each metropolitan battery is expected to support around 130 households, while the five larger Bunbury batteries will collectively serve approximately 3600 households.
Through Round 1 of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency Community Battery program, the Albanese Government has contributed $9.34 million towards the project’s total cost of $25 million.
The Federal Government has already supported the installation of five community batteries in Perth — located in Coogee, Bayswater, Stratton, Kinross and Port Kennedy — through the Community Batteries for Household Solar program. Through the Cheaper Home Batteries Program, more than 45,000 Western Australian households and small businesses have also installed batteries.
The Government is also supporting WA’s broader energy transition through the Capacity Investment Scheme, with the latest WA tender supporting 1.9GW of renewable generation and 482MW of battery storage across ten new projects planned for regional WA.
Two large-scale batteries in Muchea and Merredin are already under construction under CIS Tender 2, while three additional battery projects and one solar-battery hybrid project were awarded through CIS Tenders 5 and 6.
Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Josh Wilson said the new community batteries would help maximise the benefits of WA’s strong rooftop solar generation.
“These community batteries will help us make the most of the abundant solar generated during the day by storing and releasing it during the evening peak as the sun goes down,” Wilson said.
“Together with more than 45,000 batteries that have been installed at WA homes since July 1 last year, and our state’s nation-leading deployment of large grid-scale batteries at Collie and Kwinana, these 18 community batteries will contribute to cutting network costs while enabling more renewable generation.”
