By Molly Magennis
Hobsons Bay council has welcomed Labor’s pledge to install a community battery if they are successful at the next election.
Last week, March 8, Labor’s Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen MP and Federal Member for Gellibrand Tim Watts announced the initiative, which would cut electricity bills for local households by allowing them to feed solar power into the shared battery during the day and draw from it at night.
Council said this project is a top priority in the Hobsons Bay Advocacy Strategy 2021-2022 and that the implementation of the battery could enable the benefits of the city’s Virtual Energy Network (VEN) to be shared across more sites in the community.
“The addition of a battery will enhance the investment we have already made into developing a Virtual Energy Network, which will eventually incorporate over 4MW of renewable energy across more than 50 Council owned buildings, the largest local government installation in Victoria,” said Mayor Peter Hemphill.
“We have the technology available to accommodate a community battery and are engaging with the community to identify the most commercially viable options for facilitating low cost renewable energy for household and business use.
“The battery will also allow Council to provide power to more electric vehicle charging stations.”
