Charged and ready: Border communities plug into neighbourhood batteries

Energy minister Lily D'Ambrosio announced the allocation of $6 million on Wednesday, March 13, to support six projects aimed at deploying 25 neighbourhood batteries across 20 towns.

North East projects include:

The Yackandandah project, operated by Indigo Power, aims to prevent power outages during extreme weather events.

"(The Yackandandah) site can be islandable for longer and has significant backup power," Indigo Power managing director Ben McGowan said.

"So during an emergency power outage, a community site will have power.

"And on a day to day basis, it'll supply Indigo Power customers in Yackandandah."

This battery marks the second installation in Yackandandah and will be located at the Yackandandah Sports Park.

Totally Renewable Yackandandah founder Matthew Charles-Jones said his ambition was to have five or six batteries to ensure sufficient storage as the town increases its solar energy generation.

"The most immediate community benefit will go to each of the volunteer sports clubs that use the facility," he said.

"But more broadly, it helps manage surplus generation during the day and ensures a steady power supply at night, when it is most needed."

Meanwhile, Wodonga's battery will be located at Baranduda's water treatment plant, supplying energy to Indigo Power customers.

Mr McGowan said Indigo Power has shifted its focus to batteries due to an "oversupply" of renewable energy across its network.

"There's enough solar supply in our customer base, but not enough storage," he said.

"So this battery will soak up the solar shared by local customers and provide the site with renewable energy."

Unlike the large-scale transmission batteries proposed at Dederang, these neighbourhood batteries will only power the local community.

Ms D'Ambrosio said the program aimed to improve local energy network reliability - keeping the lights on during power outages and allowing for more households to take up rooftop solar.

"We're building 100 neighbourhood batteries across Victoria to make sure all families can share the savings from the massive uptake of solar," she said.

"We're making Victoria the home of batteries - to deliver storage to soak up renewable energy, improve the network, drive down bills and spread the benefits of local renewable energy even further."