Western Australia in particular is proving to the world that grid-scale batteries are no longer a complementary technology but can play a central role in power grids.<\/p>\n
Prices could drop during the middle of a sunny day as rooftop solar flooded the grid, but jump up on a cloudier day.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, WA Energy and Decarbonisation Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said the batteries would help stabilise electricity prices and improve grid stability.<\/p>\n
She said Perth’s rainy weekend was a key example of why more batteries were needed.<\/p>\n
![\"Three](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3fed96ea7777904dee5790beba52f8fd.jpeg\")
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WA Minister for Energy and Decarbonisation Amber-Jade Sanderson and federal Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy Josh Wilson (right). (Supplied: Australian Government)<\/p>\n
“It’s a day like today where rooftop solar isn’t going to be firing on all cylinders, and that’s why we need this storage capacity in our system to ensure system reliability and security,” said Ms Sanderson.<\/p>\n
“Community batteries like this sit on our network and act as a shared storage in neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n
“It soaks up all of that excess solar energy that’s produced during the day when demand is low \u2026 and dispatches it out at peak times when the sun is setting.”<\/p>\n
Cutting network costs<\/p>\n
The 18 new community batteries will include 13 locations across Perth that connect to about 1,700 households in total, and five larger batteries in Bunbury that connect to about 3,600 homes.<\/p>\n
Federal Climate Change and Energy Minister Josh Wilson said the new community batteries will bolster the grid capacity already supported by more than 45,000 batteries installed in homes across the state, five community batteries already installed across Perth, and several other big battery projects, including in Kwinana and Collie.<\/p>\n
![\"Josh](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d671d397a8ee53d92c02044ba0f5e6fe.jpeg\")
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Josh Wilson says the batteries will cut network costs while enabling more renewable energy generation. (Supplied: Australian Government)<\/p>\n
The federal government has provided about $9.3 million of the project’s $25 million total cost, and the batteries will be installed by Western Power.<\/p>\n
“These 18 community batteries will contribute to cutting network costs while enabling more renewable [energy] generation,” Mr Wilson said.<\/p>\n
How to kill a battery<\/a><\/p>\n A community battery project, three years in the making, run by a local not-for-profit and backed by the council, was killed after a spark of misinformation about its fire risk was ignited.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The falling price of energy storage has, at least in part, prompted a surge in battery installations across the globe.<\/p>\n Australia is the third largest energy storage market in the world, behind only China and the United States, according to data from energy research company Rystad<\/a>.<\/p>\n In WA, there is enough installed battery capacity to meet about 50 per cent of the state’s average power demand, or enough to power all of Perth’s residential homes through an evening, according to data from Open Electricity.<\/p>\n Call for legislated target<\/p>\n Solutions for Climate WA director Jess Panegyres said any investment in cleaner energy and batteries was welcome, but said what the state needed was a legislated target for renewable energy uptake.<\/p>\n Solutions for Climate WA director Jess Panegyres wants to see a legislated target for renewable energy uptake.\u00a0 (Supplied)<\/p>\n “We think it’s time to lock this momentum into a long-term commitment for the state,” she said.<\/p>\n![\"Jess](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4257266e759e284ccdaca246b67bdba1.jpeg\")
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