Energy Minister Bill Johnston and the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River have begun a five-year trial of community battery storage in Margaret River.
Located at the Margaret River Recreation Centre, the 464-kilowatt hour Tesla battery will improve power quality for the local community and allow more homes to install solar panels.
The battery will sit inside the centre top help manage its solar generation before it enters the network, which has a number of benefits.
It will help absorb solar to open up more capacity for residents and businesses using solar panels.
Energy minister Bill Johnston said changes to legislation and providing clear direction on opportunities through the Distributed Energy Resources Roadmap played a big role.
“Community batteries are proving to be a versatile solution to network challenges and I’d like to congratulate the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River for their innovative approach by embracing renewable technology,” he said.
“The community battery will also give local commercial properties with large solar outputs an opportunity to further reduce their bills.”
Western Power will operate the battery and collect data to identify more locations where large battery storage can be placed to assist industry, retailers and other commercial partners.
As well as assisting the wider electricity network by “smoothing” demand issues, such as low load, which is encountered when customer solar generation is high but power demand is low.