WA Tops Nation in Grid-Scale Battery Projects

The Climate Council

AUSTRALIA'S BATTERY BOOM is gaining traction, with Western Australia ranking first in the country for the number of big batteries in service or being commissioned, according to the Climate Council's latest report: "Battery Boom: Supercharging Australia's Renewable Rollout".

KEY FINDINGS:

Western Australia has eight big batteries in service or in commissioning, the most out of any state or territory.
The top-three suburbs ready to take their solar to the next level with home batteries are:
1. Mandurah (19, 200 rooftop solar systems)
2. Armadale (16,700 rooftop solar systems)
3. Ashby (16,700 rooftop solar systems)
There is more than 20 gigawatts of big battery storage in the national pipeline; almost double what was planned just a year ago.
Adding two million household batteries would collectively save Australians more than $4 billion a year on their power bills.
In Australia, the upfront cost of big batteries has fallen 20% last year alone.

There are eight big batteries in service or in commissioning across the state. Two of these are Australia's biggest, being installed in the historic coal town of Collie, and are set to be up and running later this year. These will assist the transition to clean, affordable, reliable renewable energy as the WA government closes its last two state-owned coal-fired generators by 2029.

Matching this with rooftop solar will take energy efficiency and savings to the next level, with the WA State Government's Residential Battery Scheme and the Federal Government's Cheaper Home Batteries Program set to start by 1 July 2025. The top-three suburbs where this will make the biggest impact are:

Mandurah (19,200 rooftop solar systems)
Armadale (16,700 rooftop solar systems)
Ashby (16,700 rooftop solar systems)

Climate Councillor and energy expert, Greg Bourne, said: "Around 40 percent of our main energy grid is powered by sun and wind. Batteries are our bridge to a 21st century energy grid; keeping the lights on in our homes, schools, and workplaces as our ageing coal fleet eventually retires by 2040.

"We already generate an excess of clean, reliable, renewable energy from Australia's abundant sun and wind. Rather than simply letting it go to waste and missing out on the savings, batteries will help soak it all up and put it to good use during periods of high demand.

"As our transport fleet progressively electrifies, those batteries can also help our grid and provide extra resilience to the system overall."

Climate Council Fellow and energy expert, Andrew Stock, said: "Household, community, and grid-scale battery storage plays a vital role in Australia's renewable energy transition. States are already making headway in these areas, but we must go further and faster to ensure more Australians can reap the benefits.

"Installing more batteries means more gigawatts of renewable energy we can store. The return on investment for communities: lower bills, less climate pollution from polluting coal and gas, and a more resilient grid."

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