Proposal for a “Business Plan for a Network of Community Batteries in the Noosa LGA”
Objective
The ZEN Inc community group and Noosa Council have received requests from community groups, businesses, bodies corporate, individuals and Councilors about the introduction of community batteries in the Noosa LGA. We have been investigating initiatives in other jurisdictions to assess their viability locally to support time shifting of excess generated solar PV, increased hosting capacity, whilst also providing network support particularly on LV feeders, all in a financially viable way.
To help meet the challenges of the energy transition and to meet zero emissions targets, we wish to collaborate with stakeholders, and especially Energex / Energy Queensland to explore and define areas of mutual benefit in this space.
Following from our commissioned roadmap report “Achieving 100% Renewable Electricity in Noosa”, it’s now time to plan how to best time shift the excess daytime solar electricity through a large number of strategically located batteries to support the Noosa community whilst providing support for our grid network.
This new roadmap will be the “Business Plan for a Network of Community Batteries in the Noosa LGA”, and will guide the pathway to grow from a single community battery, to a dozen, and in time to more than 100.
We expect that this specific plan for Noosa will be able to be easily adapted to other local government areas in South East Queensland in the Energex zone, and beyond.
Opportunities
Rapid uptake in solar is causing ‘congestion’ in the electricity network, that is, more renewable energy than the grid can handle. Unfortunately, if renewable energy can’t be used, exported to the grid, or stored, it is wasted.
Community batteries address this problem by absorbing and storing excess energy from rooftop solar and releasing it during peak times when it is needed most. At the neighbourhood-scale, costs are shared, making energy supply and storage more affordable for everybody. With community batteries, we can make our energy system more resilient, climate friendly, equitable, and affordable.
Business Plan
Detailed sections of the Business Plan are planned as follows:
Sites for batteries
specify criteria for site selection
identify and qualify candidate sites based on above criteria
also refer to the section on draft site selection criteria
examples where there is nascent support
Noosa Council - Wallace Park precinct, Sunrise Beach shops
Peregian Beach Energy Hub (proposed by working group)
Elysium residential estate (proposed by Elysium Body Corporate)
Village of Cooran (proposed by Cooran Earth Rights)
Noosa Junction - Sunshine Beach Road shopping precinct (proposed by local businesses, new solar is constrained for export)
Community Title Schemes - eg community of townhouses with dedicated distribution transformer (proposed by residents)
Residential areas with every high solar PV adoption, eg Cooroy (proposed by residents)
Boreen Point and other hinterland townships (anecdotal evidence of power instability)
Semi-industrial areas where many solar installations are constrained for export (proposed by businesses)
Areas in the Energex network which are “constrained”
Proposed new sporting developments
McKinnon Drive Sports area
Pirates Rugby proposed development
Cooroy Sports complex
Community Engagement
engage the community to educate and gauge support
refer to Community Engagement Plan
Local Electricity Network Provider - Energex / Energy Queensland
continue to engage with Energex / Energy Queensland to gain their support and assistance
identification of suitable sites, focussing on placement for mutual Energex / community benefit
define requirements for connection of the community battery to the network
propose community battery tariffs, noting that CitiPower/Powercor/United Energy(Victoria), Ausgrid(NSW), Essential Energy(NSW) & EvoEnergy(ACT) all have community battery tariffs trials for 2022-23 approved by the Australian Energy Regulator
Define the business / financial model
Options for how business and financial structures are setup for a network of community batteries
define the preferred philosophy behind the venture, ie balance between for-profit, community benefit, for carbon reduction, energy equity, etc ○ critically review potentially model based on Yarra Energy Foundation Not-For-Profit hybrid model
recommended model
Define the operating model
identify all revenue streams and operational costs
energy arbitrage
Frequency Control Ancillary Services(contingency FCAS)
LUOS tariffs
customer fees
customer payments
aggregator fees
retailer fees
operational and maintenance costs
potentially model after Yarra Energy Foundation NFP
ensure that all cost centres are covered by revenue streams, so the community batteries are financially sustainable
Land, Development Approvals, Environmental Approvals
in conjunction with Noosa Council
identify suitable land parcels for location of batteries and associated switchgear, for identified candidate sites
this may include Council land parcels
identify Council Development Approval requirements for community batteries
identify any Council environmental requirements for community batteries, such as noise, visual amenity, safety, etc
Identify partners for implementation of the Business Plan
Noosa Council
Energy Queensland / Energex
Yarra Energy Foundation consortium
Community Scale Battery Working Group
Electricity aggregator (for access to FCAS market)
Electricity retailers (for access to the retail market and customers)
Commercial partners
Identify funding sources
Noosa Council
ARENA
Commercial partners
Federal Government, via ALP election commitment for $500k community battery at Noosaville
Local investors