BankWAW proudly supports community battery launch in Beechworth as Indigo Power rolls out $4.7 million regional energy resilience project 

Indigo Power is launching the first of seven new community batteries across regional Victoria and southern New South Wales, marking a major milestone in the organisation’s largest project to date.

The launch of the first community battery is in Beechworth at the Old Beechworth Gaol, a site with high significance for Indigo Power. Almost seven years ago, Indigo Power’s very first project was the installation of solar panels to provide the Gaol with on site renewable energy.

Indigo Power Managing Director Benjamin McGowan said the community battery was an important demonstration of community-led energy solutions.

“This project shows what’s possible when communities take the lead on the issues that matter to them,” Mr McGowan said. “When we speak with rural communities about batteries, the conversation always comes back to resilience; having reliable backup storage when it’s needed most. The Beechworth Community Battery is a practical example of a community stepping up to meet its own needs”.

Building resilience when communities need it most

Rural and regional communities are increasingly impacted by emergency power outages caused by bushfires, storms, and flooding. The seven community batteries

delivered as part of this project will be located at community sites critical for emergency response, including many designated emergency relief centres. During power outages, the batteries can provide days of critical backup power, while also delivering everyday benefits to the local grid and Indigo Power customers.

Indigo Power’s Managing Director Ben McGowan said that backup storage was becoming increasingly important for rural communities.

“Backup power is no longer a ‘nice to have’ for regional communities; it’s becoming essential,” Mr McGowan said. “By placing community batteries at key sites, we can support the community’s ability to respond during emergency events and power outages, strengthen the local grid, and share locally generated renewable energy with households every day. We’re excited to be able to build resilience and share renewable energy at the same time.”

Charlotte Eddy, General Manager Strategy & Regulation at electricity distributor AusNet, said the Beechworth community battery highlights how local energy infrastructure can deliver benefits for both communities and the broader electricity network.

“We’re making it easier for communities to connect community batteries. This one of the first batteries to benefit from AusNet’s new dedicated community battery connection process — designed to make it easier, faster and more affordable for government-funded community batteries to connect to our network,” Ms Eddy said.

BEECH01 Project benefits

The Beechworth community battery (BEECH01) is designed to deliver measurable environmental, resilience, community and financial outcomes. Independent modelling has assessed projected energy flows, renewable penetration, and emissions reductions compared to a no-battery baseline.

Household and community benefits

The community battery is charged by a 99 kW solar PV system and is 340 kWh in size. The total fleet of seven community batteries is expected to reach 5 MWh in size, enough battery storage to back Indigo Power's growing retail operation up to 2000 customers.

The battery will operate as a shared community asset, sharing energy with Indigo Power customers.

• 38.2 MWh of renewable energy shared annually to participating households
• Evening discharge of stored solar energy to support local consumption
• 43% of stored energy shared with the community
• 57% used to meet host site electricity demand

By discharging during peak demand periods, the battery offsets carbon-intensive grid generation and supports greater use of local renewable energy.

Energy resilience

The integrated solar and battery system provides long-duration backup power capability:

• Critical circuits prioritised during outages
• Backup configuration aligned with host site operational needs
• On-site solar continues charging the battery during extended grid outages

This significantly enhances the site’s ability to operate as an emergency centre during prolonged power disruptions.

Environmental impact

Modelling indicates:

• 63% of annual battery charging supplied by on-site solar PV
• 85% of total site electricity consumption supplied by the solar and battery system
• 99.32 MWh of clean energy supplied annually to the site
• Additional clean energy exported to the local community

The system is projected to reduce emissions by 54.39 tonnes of CO₂-e per annum.

BEECH01 was funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), and a co-contribution from Indigo Power made with the support of a BankWAW loan and investment from Indigo Power shareholders.