Phillip Island is well known for its Grand Prix Race Circuit and its Penguin tours, but today, the Victorian town is on the map thanks to a new Community Battery, or Energy Storage System.
Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio today opened AusNet’s Phillip Island Community Energy Storage System (PICESS), which will prevent the need for diesel generators to back-up the island’s electrical grid during peak periods, including over summer holidays, and will help provide power to the Australian MotoGP.
The 5 megawatt (MW)/10 megawatt-hour (MWh) PICESS will replace the seasonal generators, which had been used for network support during peak demand, and help address short-term imbalances by soaking up excess solar power by exporting it to the grid when it’s needed.
Distributed battery energy storage will be crucial for Victoria’s future needs, soaking up cheap renewable energy when it is plentiful and dispatching it when it is needed most.
This project helps achieve the State Government’s Energy Storage Targets, which plans to reach a massive 2.6 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy storage capacity by 2030, with a stretch goal of of 6.3 GW of storage by 2035.
The Government is investing more than $42 Million to deliver 100 neighbourhood batteries across the state, as outlined in the Victorian Budget 2023/24. This will triple the number of homes with access to renewable energy storage. Work is underway with community groups, councils, and distribution companies to identify locations.
The PICESS battery will be monitored and maintained by Mondo, a commercial subsidiary of AusNet Services. The battery cabinets house Chinese-made CATL batteries, while the broader battery system is one from Hitachi Energy.
Neighbourhood-scale energy storage systems are crucial in helping us achieve our energy storage targets and will bring the benefits of battery technology to households, business and communities on Phillip Island.
Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio
Neighbourhood batteries are helping Victorians be part of the renewable energy revolution by storing cheap renewable power from rooftop solar during the day and deploying it when it is needed most.
“Phillip Island/Millowl is one of Victoria’s most popular tourism destinations. It’s fantastic that peak periods such as summer holidays or the MotoGP will now be supported by battery power instead of diesel generators.”
Member for Bass Jordan Crugnale
