Community Batteries: Vital, but Fraught with Challenges 

Australia’s transition to renewables hinges on our ability to maintain a robust and resilient electricity grid. In a time of upheaval and change in the energy sector, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are emerging as a critical piece of equipment to strengthen grid resilience. 

However, there are plenty of challenges for engineers, installers, energy distributors and communities to overcome before we see battery systems in every neighbourhood.  

Issues such as noise pollution, complex system and grid integration, installation and commissioning challenges, not to mention a lack of confidence from the community, have meant BESS have experienced a slow start in Australia despite our pressing need for grid support. Solving these issues will smooth the way for a widespread rollout of community batteries that will make a profound impact on grid resilience as our nation moves away from its reliance on coal and gas.  

Thankfully, these design challenges have recently been overcome by Valen’s technical team. Working in collaboration with a major Australian DNSP, we designed a quiet, flexible, turnkey community battery that opens up a raft of new possibilities for the energy sector.  

The Problems That Sparked Innovation  

Several community batteries on the market have been shown to generate significant noise, emitting up to 70dB of sound. This has led to strong community opposition and a limited choice of installation sites, typically easements that are located away from residences.  

Connecting BESS to existing infrastructure can also pose integration challenges for energy distributors, with technicians hamstrung by complex installation requirements and time-consuming connections.  

Then, once the battery is installed, DNSPs need flexibility and control to remotely switch over supply as needed and re-route energy when and where it’s needed most.  

By prioritising noise reduction and incorporating practical features to help providers modulate grid dependence as needed, Valen’s new BESS sets a new benchmark for community battery design in Australia. The result is Australia’s quietest community battery: the VoraPlus™: a turnkey system that helps support our transition to renewable energy, enhances grid stability, and ensures Australia has the critical infrastructure we need to keep communities connected, safe and resilient. 

Engineering the VoraPlus™ 

The VoraPlus™ has achieved a significant noise reduction of >23dB, slashing noise emissions to less than 50dB. This makes VoraPlus™ the quietest community battery on the Australian market with several positive knock-on effects coming into play thanks to the unique, insulated, all-in-one design. 

The unit’s sound levels were reduced thanks to a twin-walled enclosure that features mass loading between the walls, reducing noise and protecting against internal and external fires. Plus, by relocating the inverters inside the main enclosure (unlike existing designs which feature external inverters), the unit is more resilient in challenging environments such as coastal and dusty regions.  

Bringing the meter, controls and breakers into the internals of the unit effectively created an internal ‘pillar’, speeding up installation and eliminating the need to connect to an external LV pillar. The footprint also fits over a standard culvert, enabling further efficiencies in installation and deployment and saving DNSP’s time and money. 

Islanding and Why It Matters 

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) and state governments are prioritising projects that integrate community batteries and microgrids with islanding capabilities, such as the Victorian government-funded Community Microgrid and Sustainable Energy Program initiative. Systems are also being rolled out on NSW’s South Coast, such as this Endeavour Energy trial that will help regional communities to keep their power on if the grid goes down. 

To provide the ultimate in flexibility and control for DNSPs, Valen’s engineers designed the  VoraPlus™ BESS so that it could be islanded, effectively removing the battery from the grid and allowing it to supply power to the distributor’s internal network should there be a major event.  

Islanding-capable community batteries help stabilise the grid by providing backup power, peak demand management and frequency regulation, making them an essential piece of equipment to help energy distributors maintain power continuity and reduce the number of network outages. This also has potential applications for decentralised grids where controlled islanding can positively impact disaster resilience, bushfire mitigation and energy security. 

Valen: keeping communities connected, safe and resilient 

Valen’s proven track record of delivering efficient custom-designed energy storage solutions, designed by our capable in-house team, was a key factor in securing the contract with this major DNSP.  

Now, the wider industry can benefit from these innovations thanks to the VoraPlus™, an innovative engineering success story that addresses real-world challenges while supporting the transition to renewables. 

To learn more about Australia’s quietest community battery and our collaborative approach to designing turnkey power solutions, reach out to the Valen Team today.