Malmsbury Neighbourhood Battery Project Update

Energy in Australia is rapidly transitioning from fossil fuel sources to renewables. As more energy comes from solar and wind, storage is needed to make this energy available when we need it. Neighbourhood batteries – also known as community or mid-scale batteries – can help fulfil this role while also benefiting communities.

To support this transition, Sustainable Malmsbury is planning its own neighbourhood battery. A neighbourhood battery in Malmsbury would reduce the town’s greenhouse gas emissions, and strengthen the community’s ability to withstand power outages caused by extreme weather events.

In a community survey at the end of 2024, 95% of respondents said they were interested in having a neighbourhood battery in Malmsbury. To provide the community with more information and answer questions, Sustainable Malmsbury held a community meeting on 26 February with guest speakers from the Yarra Energy Foundation. Thank you to everyone who came along!

Key messages from the session:

· Neighbourhood batteries connect either directly to the grid or to a community building – they can’t directly connect to individual households

· Connecting to the grid more generally or providing a microgrid that would backup Malmsbury during a power outage is currently very complex and expensive (multiple millions of dollars), with bureaucratic and insurance issues and limited financial or environmental benefit

· Attendees told us that their priorities for a neighbourhood battery were contributing as a town to the transition to renewable energy, and solar and a battery on a community building that could serve as a community hub during power outages.

· Other ways Malmsbury residents can support the energy transition are improving their home energy efficiency and/or installing home solar and (if they can afford it) a home battery. Click here for tips on saving money and energy at home.

If you missed out on the session or would like to listen again, the link to the audio recording is here (thanks Mischa!).

We are planning to apply for a grant from the Victorian Government’s 100 Neighbourhood Batteries Initiative, and have formed a working group to progress the project. Please email us if you’d like to join the working group.

In the meantime we’ll continue to provide updates on the Malmsbury neighbourhood battery here on the MRSG website, through newsletters, Facebook, and our stall at the Malmsbury Farmers' Market, third Sunday of the month.

The project is supported by a Community Climate Action grant from Macedon Ranges Shire Council, Community Bank Gisborne & District and Macedon Ranges Community Enterprises