Thanks to a grant provided by the Victorian Government, the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance invites tenders for the installation of 11 backup energy systems, comprising large scale behind-the-meter battery energy storage systems and solar PV.
Alpine Shire Council is partnering with the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance and nine other regional Victorian councils to deliver the Powering Resilience in the Regions project, which includes the installation of a large-scale battery energy storage system and additional solar PV at the Community Centre in Bright.
This project is funded through Stream 3 of Round 2 the Victorian Government's 100 Neighbourhood Batteries Program.
As this project is funded through a joint initiative, tenderers are invited to apply through a single tender platform on Ararat Rural City Council's website.
Alpine Shire Mayor, Cr Sarah Nicholas, welcomed the Powering Resilience in the Regions project as a measure that will enhance energy resilience in Alpine Shire.
"The Bright Community Centre was chosen for this project because it’s a Council-owned and publicly accessible site that is well positioned to provide continuous power supply during grid outages," she said.
"The battery energy storage system will not only provide back-up power to the facility in the event of a grid outage, but will also create a place that community members can access during extended outages for power, water, and communications."
Cr Nicholas also emphasised that we are at the beginning of a journey for energy resilience across Alpine Shire.
"The neighbourhood battery energy storage system at Bright Community Centre is a first step to developing energy resilient hubs across both the Ovens and Kiewa valleys," she said.
"While this scale of development is subject to external funding, we are looking forward to installing large scale solar generation and battery energy storage solutions on publicly accessible buildings in towns across Alpine Shire as funding becomes available."
While the size of the battery and solar system is subject to final design, it is expected that a 25 kW/50 kWh battery energy storage system and 10 kW additional solar PV will be installed, at a minimum, to provide sufficient back-up power and reduce energy bills.
Tenderers can apply by visiting https://app.eprocure.com.au/ararat/home/public
Applications close at 5pm on Monday, 1 September 2025.
This project was funded by the Victorian Government through the 100 Neighbourhood Batteries Program and is generously supported by the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance, Goulburn Murray Climate Alliance, and Gippsland Alliance for Climate Action.