Vic battery program boosting energy resilience
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Vic battery program boosting energy resilience - Energy Magazine
The Victorian Government has opened applications for the second round of its $42 million 100 Neighbourhood Batteries program, aimed at improving energy reliability, reducing energy bills, and supporting local communities.
The program now includes energy back-up systems to enhance community resilience during emergencies, such as storms, enabling access to essential power for cooking, charging devices, and critical information. Neighbourhood batteries, larger than household batteries but smaller than grid-scale systems, store excess renewable energy and release it when needed.
This round prioritizes projects benefiting low-income, vulnerable households, outer suburbs, and regional areas. Funding has increased to up to $400,000 per project, with battery sizes ranging from 20kW/40kWh to 5MW/20MWh. Councils, community groups, businesses, developers, and not-for-profits are eligible to apply, with tools available to assess project readiness.