Community Batteries Funding Round 2
- 1 Step 1 - Read the Funding Announcement
- 2 Step 2 - Observe the key dates
- 3 Step 3 - Prepare your response
Background
The October 2022 Federal Budget provided $200 million for the Community Batteries for Household Solar budget measure to deploy 400 community batteries across Australia. Of this, $171 million was allocated to ARENA to deliver at least 342 batteries. The Community Batteries Funding Initiative under the Advancing Renewables Program (ARP) seeks to support the deployment of community batteries across Australia to lower energy bills, cut emissions, reduce pressure on the electricity grid and enable further distributed solar installations.
Through Round 1 of the Community Batteries Funding Initiative, ARENA approved $124.7 million to deploy 318 batteries in all states and the Northern Territory. ARENA has allocated the remaining $46.3 million of funding towards Community Batteries Round 2 (Round 2).
How it works
The Round 2 Funding Announcement details the process ARENA will use to fund projects. Round 2 will be delivered as a competitive process under the ARP as defined in the ARP Guidelines. The Funding Announcement should be read in conjunction with the ARP Guidelines below (which apply to Round 2).
- Funding Announcement – Community Batteries Funding Round 2 (PDF 268KB)
- Advancing Renewables Program Guidelines (PDF 327KB)
- Frequently Asked Questions (PDF 232KB)
- Community Batteries Funding Round 2 Project Plan Guidance (Full Application) (PDF 222KB)
Webinar
Community Batteries Funding Round 2 Launch Webinar – 17 March 2025 (Complete)
Further reading
- ARENA Media Release – 26 February 2025
- ARENA Knowledge Bank – Implementing Community Scale Batteries
- ANU Neighbourhood Battery Knowledge Hub
- Clean Energy Council – A Guide to Benefit Sharing Options for Renewable Energy Projects
- DCCEEW Community Batteries for Household Solar Program – Delivery of Election Commitments Stream 1 and Stream 2 (this opportunity has now closed).
- Community Battery Market Snapshot (PDF 1MB)
- Grantee Toolbox – A Guide for Funding Recipients
Key dates
Key dates for the Community Batteries Funding Round 2 (Round 2) are outlined below. For more details, refer to the Funding Announcement.
- Expression of Interest: [Closed]
- Full Application Open Date: Tuesday, 1 July 2025
- Full Application Due Date: Monday, 1 September 2025 at 11:59 PM Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST)
The dates represent the current timetable for Round 2. ARENA retains the right to amend proposed timelines and stages of the Funding Round at its discretion.
Expression of Interest (EOI) [Closed]
Expression of Interest submissions are now closed.
Submit your Full Application
Applicants invited to submit a Full Application will be sent an ARENANet Portal link to complete the submission.
Submit the following documents with your application:
- Project Plan
- Budget in Excel or similar format
- Financial Model in Excel or similar format
- Risk Management Plan
- Community Consultation Plan
- Funding Agreement Compliance Table – applicants must use the template provided (see reference documents)
- Project Funding and Sources and Uses Table in Excel – applicants must use the template provided (see reference documents)
- Conflict of Interest Declaration – applicants must use the template provided (see reference documents)
Reference documents:
- Funding Announcement – Community Batteries Funding Round 2 (PDF 268KB)
- Advancing Renewables Program Guidelines (PDF 415KB)
- Risk Management Plan – Template (DOCX 94KB)
- Community Batteries Funding Round 2 Project Budget and Sources and Uses Table – Template (XLSX 26KB)
- Community Batteries Funding Round 2 Conflict of Interest Declaration – Template (DOCX 230KB)
- ARENA Funding Agreement Compliance Table – Template (DOCX 213KB)
- Community Batteries Funding Round 2 Funding Agreement – Template (PDF 660KB)
- Community Batteries Funding Round 2 Project Plan Guidance (Full Application) (PDF 222KB)
- Grantee Toolbox – A Guide for Funding Recipients
Questions
Have a question? Refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document below in the first instance. If your question is not answered in this document, complete a ‘Contact Us’ form in ARENANet. Round 2 is a competitive process, so ARENA does not intend to collaborate with Applicants.
