A community or neighborhood battery is a mid-range option, between a private UPS system and grid-scale battery energy storage. Recent traffic on social media inspires us to write about neighborhood batteries, and what they do (and ought not to do). Towards the end of this article we’ll also provide advice on whether one of these would suit your particular community.
Things To Do With a Neighborhood Battery
Neighborhood batteries come in different shapes and sizes, to suit individual applications. We also find them in remote communities and villages, so ‘community’ may be a better name than ‘neighborhood’.
The big advantage of these devices is they empower more local use of renewable energy. They could also eventually pay for themselves by selling electricity to the local grid.
However, we are thinking of more than just access to renewable energy here. We need to drill down into the details concerning neighborhood batteries, and what they do for local communities (if the fit is good).
Community batteries have potential to lower net utility bills, and promote a more continuous electricity supply. They can also contribute towards the green transition, by helping smooth out renewable energy.
But Neighborhood Batteries Are Not for Everyone.
The Conversation website contributed a thought piece that we link to below. The idea is good, they agree, because community batteries have potential to benefit everybody, not just those with home solar power energy.
Therefore, their article continues, neighborhoods need to do a careful cost-benefit analysis before they invest their money. And then subsequently measure and assess whether these benefits actually accrue in practice.
These two check points are important. For if these projects do not deliver, then the community at large could become disillusioned and withdraw interest. This could particularly be the case, for example, if battery communities trade in energy from fossil fuel.
Community batteries are a good idea in principle, and they have their place. But those considering them need to understand neighborhood batteries and what they do, and make sure they deliver on their promises after they invest.
More Information
Support For Community Batteries Powers Up
Big Battery Problems Challenge Renewables
