Project: Old Beechworth Gaol community battery
Location: Old Beechworth Gaol, Beechworth, Indigo Shire, on Dhudhuroa Country
Project initiator: Totally Renewable Beechworth
Battery owner and operator: Indigo Power
Project funding: Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) Community Batteries for Energy Resilience Project, with community support through an equity crowdfunding campaign organised by Indigo Power.
Project status: Commissioned March 2026
What are the benefits?
Provides backup power to tenants at the Old Beechworth Goal during outages and after extreme weather events.
Local residents have access to charge their devices.
Supports Beechworth’s journey towards 100% renewable energy
Local residents who have Indigo Power as their electricity retailer can save on their bills.
Stores rooftop solar generated during the day to power the Old Beechworth Gaol tenants during the afternoon and evening peak, and exports excess solar electricity to the grid.
Features
- Prior PV inverter capacity: 30 kVA.
- Prior export limit: 0 kVA – this means the system was not allowed to export excess solar electricity to the grid.
- New additional PV capacity: 34 kVA (35kW of new 69kW is DC coupled to the BESS).
- BESS inverter capacity: 119 kW / 336 kWh.
- Total new capacity: 183 kVA.
- New export limit: 200 kVA.
How does it work?
- No discharge / export to the grid between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm.
- No charge / import from the grid between 3:00 pm and 9:00 pm.
- Battery charging and discharging to and from the grid is permitted outside these periods, provided it remains within the limits specified as per the supply agreement.