The City of Melbourne respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land we govern, the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Bunurong / Boon Wurrung peoples of the Kulin and pays respect to their Elders past and present. We acknowledge and honour the unbroken spiritual, cultural and political connection they have maintained to this unique place for more than 2000 generations.


We accept the invitation in the Uluru Statement from the Heart and are committed to walking together to build a better future.

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      2. Power Melbourne
      3. Neighbourhood battery community champions

      Community battery community champions

      What we did

      Through the Community Champions program, we aimed to recruit a mix of people that reflect the diversity of the three municipalities. We wanted to hear from people passionate about community batteries and people who might not know much about community batteries or have concerns about community batteries.

      Participants self-nominated through a public Expression of Interest (EOI) process. Independent community engagement consultant Capire Consulting Group manged the selection of participants. Capire randomly selected participants based on their demographics to match the demographic profile of each council area.

      • 12 Champions from City of Melbourne
      • nine Champions from City of Yarra
      • four Champions from City of Port Phillip.

      Starting with a series of deep dive workshops, we supported Community Champions to build their knowledge around the purpose and potential benefits of community batteries, so they could help promote the project through their existing networks and bring the broader community along the journey.

      What the Champions did

      • Welcome session to introduce Champions to the project and their role.
      • Two hour workshop exploring findings from previous engagement and dive deeper into conversations about community aspirations and concerns.
      • Online training session focusing on how to host conversations about community batteries with personal and professional networks.
      • Support the delivery of broader community engagement by promoting engagement opportunities with friends, family and networks, attending community pop ups and hosting conversations using a conversation toolkit.
      • Two hour workshop to explore latest engagement findings, reflections and learnings for continuing the conversation about community batteries with the community.

      What we learned from the Champions

      Through their deep dive workshops and conversations, Champions identified a wide range of opportunities and challenges to fast-track projects that councils should consider and plan for, including:

      Opportunities for councils to continue the conversation and build community interest:

      • Make battery projects visible before, during, following installation to build community awareness and education.
      • Host displays and ongoing conversations at markets, libraries and with engaged community groups.
      • Educational programs including with local schools.
      • Help connect people interested in battery projects with others engaged community members to collaborate on sustainability and energy transition initiatives.

      Challenges for councils to consider and plan for:

      • Ongoing whole-of-life maintenance, upkeep and management of battery units.
      • Understanding and addressing local energy equity concerns.
      • Exploring how to translate the potential benefits of community batteries to household level.
      • Engaging with community who do not have solar and do not feel engaged with a community battery project.

      Champions also put the concepts and principles they learnt through the workshops into practice during a fun 'design a community battery project' group activity.

      What the Champions learned through the program

      In the final Community Champion workshop, we asked Champions to consider what they learnt through the program. Some key learnings include:

      • increased understanding of community batteries
      • increased understanding of broader community views
      • the value in learning something new and trialling different options.

      Champions also learnt about ideas that build excitement amongst the community such as potential models that support more vulnerable community members.

      During this reflection exercise, Champions highlighted that questions about community batteries remain such as the complexity of how retailers operate. This insight will also inform future phases of the Power Melbourne community engagement journey.

      Image 1 of 10

      Community Champions sitting at round tables listening to a presentation during a workshop

      Community Champions Session 1

      Community Champions hear from Yarra Energy Foundation about the Fitztroy North Battery

      Photo credit: Rodney Dekker / Aspire Pictures
      Small groups of Community Champions sitting around a table listening to one community member share their thoughts about opportunities and challenges

      Community Champions Session 1

      Champions discuss the opportunities and barriers to community battery project.

      Photo credit: Rodney Dekker / Aspire Pictures
      A Capire engagement presenting key project concepts to a group of Champions during

      Community Champions Session 1

      A Capire engagement consultant introduces key project concepts to Champions.

      Photo credit: Rodney Dekker / Aspire Pictures
      Two Community Champions standing in front of group of champions showing and explaining their hypothetical battery project. drawn on a piece of paper.

      Community Champions Session 2

      Champions explain how their team designed their hypothetical battery project.

      Photo credit: Rodney Dekker / Aspire Pictures
      Champion standing in front of group of Champions explaining a hypothetical battery project design drawn on a piece of paper.

      Community Champions Session 2

      Champions explain how their team designed their hypothetical battery project.

      Photo credit: Rodney Dekker / Aspire Pictures
      Two Community Champions standing next to a large piece of paper they used to draw their hypothetical battery project

      Community Champions Session 2

      Champions explain how their team designed their hypothetical battery project.

      Photo credit: Rodney Dekker / Aspire Pictures
      Councillor Leppert standing and talking with a member of the project team and a community champion.

      Community Champions Session 3

      Councillor Leppert meets Champions at their final workshop.

      Photo credit: Rodney Dekker / Aspire Pictures
      A Capire engagement consultant standing at front of room with Community Champions explaining a slide on projector.

      Community Champions Session 3

      A Capire engagement consultant reports back to Community Champions on engagement findings.

      Photo credit: Rodney Dekker / Aspire Pictures
      Community Champinons standing as one group at the front of a room with Councillor Leppert.

      Community Champions Session 3

      Community Champions celebrate with project teams and Councillor Leppert at their final workshop.

      Photo credit: Rodney Dekker / Aspire Pictures

      Lord Mayor Sally Capp with Power Melbourne Community Champions

      Lord Mayor Sally Capp meets with City of Melbourne Power Melbourne Community Champions. What the video here.

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      Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners

      The City of Melbourne respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land we govern, the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Bunurong / Boon Wurrung peoples of the Kulin and pays respect to their Elders past and present. We acknowledge and honour the unbroken spiritual, cultural and political connection they have maintained to this unique place for more than 2000 generations.

      We accept the invitation in the Uluru Statement from the Heart and are committed to walking together to build a better future.

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