Community battery Western Australia locations, 18 new sites
A community battery is a shared battery about the size of a small shed that sits on a street or in a park, storing excess rooftop solar power during the day and releasing it into the local network in the evening when household demand climbs. It eases strain on nearby power lines and lets more homes connect rooftop solar without any resident buying or installing anything. Western Power, the government owned business that runs the electricity network across Perth and the southwest of the state, has released the community battery Western Australia locations for its next expansion, 18 new batteries across 10 local government areas, Bayswater, Canning, Cottesloe, Melville, Swan, Cockburn, Victoria Park, Stirling, Serpentine Jarrahdale and Bunbury.
Two different finish dates, not one
The 18 batteries split into 13 low voltage batteries in Perth suburbs and 5 medium voltage batteries in Bunbury, and the 2 groups are not on the same schedule. The 5 Bunbury batteries are due to be operational by the end of 2026, serving about 3,600 households combined. The 13 Perth batteries follow 5 months later, due by May 2027, each expected to serve about 130 nearby households. Western Australian Energy Minister Amber Jade Sanderson said the state built the batteries to match its solar uptake.
Western Australia has the highest uptake of rooftop solar in the country. Now, we're building the battery storage to make better use of it.
Amber Jade Sanderson, Western Australian Energy Minister. Source 3.
A 25 million dollar project, most of it not federal money
Trade press reports the project at 25 million dollars in total, of which the Australian Renewable Energy Agency is contributing 9.34 million dollars. Dividing that contribution by the total puts the federal share at about 37% of the project, a figure neither source states directly. Federal Assistant Energy Minister Josh Wilson framed the benefit in terms of network costs.
These 18 community batteries will contribute to cutting network costs while enabling more renewable generation.
Josh Wilson, Federal Assistant Energy Minister. Source 3.
Adding to 5 batteries already running, in a national program
This rollout is not the first for Western Australia. Western Power already runs 5 community batteries, at Coogee, Bayswater, Stratton, Kinross and Port Kennedy, bringing the total number of community batteries running in the state to 23 once the new ones finish. Most of the new enclosures carry custom artwork called Boordakan, created by First Nations artist Buffie Punch, with 2 councils choosing local designs instead, and the product line carries its own name, PowerBank, a detail that appears on the page Western Power publishes about the rollout rather than in any of the news coverage of it.
The third bar, 23, is a total this site calculated by adding the 5 already operating batteries to the 18 being built, not a figure any source states directly.
Show the numbers
| Already operating | 5 |
| Newly funded | 18 |
| Total after rollout | 23 |
The project sits inside a bigger national program. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency has conditionally approved up to 370 community batteries across the country, and 28 batteries approved for Western Australia, split between Western Power and the regional operator Horizon Power, rank fourth among the states.
The 28 batteries approved for Western Australia split between the 18 covered in this article, built by Western Power, and 10 for Horizon Power, a figure this site calculated by subtracting rather than one the Australian Renewable Energy Agency states directly.
Show the numbers
| New South Wales | 95 |
| Queensland | 69 |
| Victoria | 37 |
| Western Australia | 28 |
| South Australia | 24 |
| Northern Territory | 16 |
| Tasmania | 6 |