With so much energy potential at Leonards Hill, works are underway for Stage 1 of our community battery (5MWh) and we have a planning permit for Stage 2 (up to 10MWh coupled with 5MW solar PV)
Hepburn Energy has been working on the concept of co-locating a Battery Energy Storage System at our wind farm to mitigate the risks associated with negative pricing since 2021. In 2023 we secured funding from the Federal Government’s Community Batteries for Household Solar Program.
Our stage 1 community battery was ordered in December 2024 after thorough research. The battery will have a 2MW / 5.015MWh capacity and is scheduled for installation on-site at the wind farm in mid 2025. It will be connected to the existing inverter, and behind the existing grid connection.
Hepburn Energy partnered with the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance (CVGA), Hepburn Shire Council and Orkestra to look at the potential of community-scale batteries in our region. The project, called Community Sparks, was funded by the State Government’s Neighbourhood Battery Initiative.
This project assessed community-scale batteries’ technical and financial feasibility, explored potential sites and created resources to help community members engage with this technology.
You can take a look at our findings in the Community-Scale Batteries Booklet or find out more on the Hepburn Z-NET page here.
Watch our explainer annimation here!
Is the potential future capacity of battery storage at the Energy Park.