The comment by Luke Davies (Letters, Wangaratta Chronicle Friday, 6 March - 'The servo we don't need') brings to our attention that this is another fuel and food outlet, concentrated along Parfitt Road, Ryley Street and Tone Road. All are high traffic areas with maximum inconvenience to get there for anyone in the increasing housing areas in the north-west of Wangaratta. In this area along the busy Yarrawonga and Wangandary roads there is neither food, or fuel, it's kilometres away and you currently have to fight your way through the town to get it. Why is this? Marc Chick, Wangandary Beechworth Community Battery lights the way Indigo Power launched its community battery in Beechworth last week, backed by community members contributing funds to guarantee a loan from Bank WAW, along with a grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). Our regional community are backing the installation of eight community batteries across eight towns, with Wangaratta in line for one shortly. Community batteries provide a key technical solution for the energy transition, and they empower local communities to participate in the renewable energy transition. The Beechworth battery includes 99 kW of solar and a 340KWh battery sharing renewable energy with Indigo Power customers. Community batteries provide a practical solution to the challenges faced by rural and regional communities in the renewable energy transition. They harness the abundance of solar produced during the day to share at night. Regional communities are taking control of the opportunities created by renewable energy production in both wind and solar. Financial backing by the community keeps the revenue across the region. As solar energy generation often exceeds local electricity demand, there is an overabundance of energy that the grid cannot immediately absorb. The mismatch between supply and demand can cause voltage rises, frequency imbalances, and place pressure on existing grid infrastructure. When this happens grid operators may need to limit solar exports, resulting in “wasted” clean renewable energy. Over-generation is particularly common during the day when solar energy is abundant, but demand is low. Community batteries offer a practical solution to these problems. These batteries store excess solar energy generated during the day and release it in the evening when demand rises. Batteries both firm up energy and secure our energy supply. They also lower costs for consumers. Russell Sully, Wangaratta South
