Inside the Battery, ahead on our common goals
On the 5th September, fourteen of our community energy participants gathered at the community-battery site to admire more than just the beautiful artwork. We had a rare chance to look inside the full Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). Stephen Thomson from Acacia Energy opened each panel in turn, walking the group through what's actually happening behind the casings. He spoke about how the cells are configured, how it connects and “talks” to the grid, how charge and discharge cycles are managed, and how the battery is used in the context of our program.
From there, the conversation moved to the bigger changes underway across the energy network. Stephen spoke about how energy network companies are re-evaluating their own role as the system moves from one-way delivery to genuine two-way exchange. Households and community assets like ours are no longer just drawing power but feeding it back, shaping energy demand, and changing what "the grid" is for. This shift places projects like this one closer to the centre of the energy transition. Participants wanted to know how our project makes a difference and its role in the energy market.
We then moved to the sitting area at Alphington Farmers’ market for the second half of the morning. We updated the group on our total number of participants' and recent changes to Cera, our reporting app. Cera shows the community-level energy data and individual members’ energy data.
Graeme opened a broader conversation about our direction, proposing that we set an explicit community goal for the percentage of local renewable energy we aim to achieve. Village Power’s vision has always been to enable the community to achieve 100% use of local renewable energy. He said that this is ambitious but we want to make a real impact on the energy system. This goal will inform future events and will underpin practical parts of our journey, including energy use, efficiency upgrades, understanding your own data, and understanding energy retailing and billing.
What came out of that discussion was that people don't just want updates. They want this group to function as a brain trust. A place to bring genuine questions and get information they can actually trust. This group is seen as a place to test ideas and discuss them openly.
Graeme talks more about the 100% goal in his President’s report.
Our Cera numbers for Autumn
Until recently, we had forty-four participants that provided their authority to access their meter data. The picture across that group for Autumn is presented here. The average use of CE was 51% across the group, however the individual household averages ranged from 19% to 92%. The annual average use of CE for 2025-26 was 57%.
This is a reminder of the diversity of our group and that everyone has a different starting point. And that the 100% goal Graeme raised as a shared community target, will only be achievable if we support individuals and work collectively.
Please note that the latest report that covers 2026 Winter is about to be released.
If you couldn't join us on the 5th, you can be assured that the CE program is in full swing, covering everything from the community renewable goal to subsequent events. That's what makes this a good moment to step in. Your participation will shape the program. Feel free to reach out to our team at community@villagepower.com.au at any time and we look forward to our next event.