4 lessons from Melbourne on how cities can build neighborhood batteries that people love
By Michael Shank, Fast Company.
Excerpt: Fossil fuel enthusiasts, when defending their carbon emitting industry, love saying that the wind doesn’t always blow, and the sun doesn’t always shine. ...They frame it as an obstacle to the green transition and a reason to not fully rely on renewable energy. Anyone working in the transition, however, knows full well that we can store that wind and solar power for later use. ...Now, cities around the world are getting into the storage game, rolling out batteries across neighborhoods and communities. Batteries that charge during the day, when renewable energy is shining and blowing, and then release that stored energy when and where it’s needed most. Melbourne, Australia, is approaching this process collaboratively with the community, as both a teaching tool and a way to ensure that any battery designs, locations, and uses have neighborhood buy-in. It’s all part of a campaign called Power Melbourne that’s helping to aid in the city’s transition to 100% renewable energy by 2030. And while the council’s operations are already powered by 100% renewable energy, the city facilitates energy power purchase agreements for businesses to also tap into abundant local renewable energy, like wind power. ...communities aren’t just supportive of neighborhood batteries but have some great ideas for how to design, locate, and make multiple uses out of them. ...Support for these batteries is overwhelming. In early surveying of residents and businesses, 89% agreed that community batteries are an important part of the solution in transitioning to more renewable energy. Another 77% of respondents were supportive of a community battery in their local area....