“Community batteries help local communities make better use of rooftop solar by storing excess energy during the day and making it available when it is needed most,” Faris said.
“They can help lower costs, support greater renewable energy uptake and improve the efficiency of the electricity network.”
Faris added that the programme is also generating data on battery performance, costs, business models, customer benefits, and grid impacts, intended to help accelerate the technology’s broader commercial deployment.
The three newly funded projects under Round 2 span different ownership and deployment models.
The YES Group Regional Community Batteries Project will receive AU$10.29 million to deploy 14 community battery storage systems across regional South Australia and New South Wales.
Ausgrid, the network operator serving Sydney, has been allocated AU$8 million for a network-led scale-up of 21 community batteries across Sydney, the Central Coast and Hunter regions.
The City of Newcastle will receive AU$5 million for a project integrating community batteries with embedded solar networks across regional Queensland.
A fleet approaching 250 systems, with regional variation in deployment models
ARENA’s 100-battery milestone reflects only a portion of the broader national fleet, which extends beyond ARENA-funded projects to include battery storage systems deployed independently by network operators, councils and not-for-profits.
The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) confirmed in early 2026 that 244 community battery storage systems were connected to Australia’s distribution networks, with distribution network service providers owning 189 of those installations across 14 networks.
Queensland led deployment through Energex’s 53 installations and Ergon Energy’s 13 units, while New South Wales followed with Endeavour Energy operating 54 systems and Ausgrid maintaining 22, a concentration the AER attributed to higher renewable energy penetration and network congestion challenges in the eastern states.
Deployment models have varied considerably by state. In the ACT, the territory government completed its first community battery network with the addition of a 450kWh system.
Meanwhile, Western Australia has pursued a utility-led approach, with Western Power beginning construction on 18 new community batteries across Perth and Bunbury in June 2026 under a AU$25 million programme, more than doubling its existing fleet of 13 systems deployed across the South West Interconnected System.
In New South Wales, network operator Ausconnex, part of the Endeavour Energy Group, began construction on the first of eight community batteries planned across Greater Western Sydney in August 2026, part of a privately funded programme worth more than AU$65 million.
The eight sites, at Penrith, South Marsden Park, Seven Hills, Emu Plains, Maldon, North Leppington, Cawdor and Cranebrook, will together deliver around 40MW of power and 136MWh of storage once complete.
Community batteries are typically designed to store surplus rooftop solar generation during the day and discharge it during the evening peak, offering renters, apartment dwellers and other households without their own solar installation a way to access the financial benefits of distributed storage.
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