SA Power Networks, which owns the poles and wires that deliver power to the state’s homes and businesses, has chosen the location for another community battery that will support the deliver of EV fast-chargers in remote towns.
SAPN is in the middle of a program to roll out eight community batteries for a variety of purposes, including local resilience and allowing EV fast charging that has been constrained in some areas because of the lack of grid capacity.
The batteries – sized between 100 kWh and 250 kWh – are a cheaper alternative than reinforcing the network.
“These batteries will minimise the impact of new fast EV charger connections on the SA Power Networks’ network, in locations where connecting fast EV chargers has so-far been prohibitively expensive due to network constraints,” SAPN says on its website.
The latest 100 kWh battery is to be installed atLochiel, some 125 kilometres north of Adelaide. The Lochiel community battery was the final location to be announced under the scheme that is supported by ARENA.
“We are very excited to confirm the final location to receive a battery under this project, all eight batteries are expected to be operational in the coming months,” said Chris Bennett, SA Power Networks operations manager.
“We will be working closely with the Wakefield Regional Council and the Lochiel Progress Association to bring this project to fruition.”
Two high voltage batteries will be installed in the towns of Robe and Lameroo, two community resilience batteries are being installed at Hawker and Kimba, and the three other EV fast-charging batteries are being installed at Parndana (on Kangaroo Island), Karoonda, and Robe.
The portfolio of eight community batteries is designed to not only provide a range of benefits to the local communities within which they operate but also build SA Power Networks’ expertise and understanding of community batteries to enable their deployment at scale across its network.
The two high voltage network support batteries at Robe and Lameroo are being built on existing sub-station sites to provide support to specific high voltage lines in SA Power Networks network, including peak load management and voltage management.
Similarly, the four EV charger support batteries are designed to support and enable the installation of EV fast chargers in regional towns across the state, helping to minimise their impact on the state network in locations that have been otherwise prohibitively expensive to install fast chargers.
The EV charger/ battery combination and community resilience batteries will be installed in December 2025.
“This is a key project to ensure our community continues to thrive and stay connected,” said Rodney Reid, Mayor of Wakefield Regional Council.
“Not only do we have residents and businesses which will benefit from this infrastructure, but we are an important gateway to SA’s regions, and we want to provide an efficient and accessible service to our visitors.”
The battery is one of eight that SA Power Networks is rolling out across South Australia as part of a statewide project being jointly funded with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
Announced earlier this year, the project will see all eight batteries provide a range of community benefits including high voltage network support, community resilience, and EV charger support.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.