Reliable renewables to power Premiership winning AFL club

Reigning AFL champions, the Brisbane Lions, are powering towards the 2025 opening round, but the AFL and AFLW club has even more energy on the way with new batteries to boost their Springfield headquarters.

The Albanese Government, through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), is funding two batteries at the club to help the lights stay on at Brighton Homes Arena and power a community gym.

Batteries help stabilise the energy grid, improve energy reliability and bring energy bills down for good. They soak up excess solar during the day and send it back to the grid at night when electricity demand is at its peak.

Momentum Energy, a subsidiary of Hydro Tasmania, has received over $11 million from ARENA to build 39 batteries across Queensland, South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria, including two at the Brisbane Lions’ HQ. Other sites include a major university, aged care homes, and small-scale agricultural solar farms.

The Brisbane Lions’ batteries have a combined capacity of 700kW/1,400 kWh and will use locally generated solar toward powering field lights at night, with excess solar feeding back into the local grid. The batteries have capacity equivalent to peak demand of around 170 homes in South East Queensland every day.

The Lions are also investing in a 770kW solar system, public EV charging infrastructure, and workplace charging for players and staff.

While visiting the headquarters in Springfield today, the Minister for Climate Change and Energy also opened round two of ARENA’s Community Batteries Funding Initiative.

ARENA is now seeking applications from interested parties for grants to deploy batteries which demonstrate community benefits, build industry capacity and help support more rooftop solar and small-scale renewables on the grid.

Battery applications will share in the $46.3 million available for round two, must be between 50 kW and 5 MW and connected to the distribution network.

For more detail head to ARENA’s website: https://arena.gov.au/funding/community-batteries-funding-round-2

Quotes attributable to Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen:

“The Brisbane Lions are the reigning AFL premiers, and this battery will provide the club the extra power it needs to stay at the very top of their game.

“Powering sporting facilities like this one shows how the Albanese Government's reliable renewable plan is rolling out across our communities.

“Just as we store water in dams when it rains, batteries ensure we have renewable energy even when the sun isn’t shining, and the wind isn’t blowing.

“In contrast, Peter Dutton doesn’t believe in batteries and his $600 billion taxpayer funded nuclear scheme will disrupt our modernising energy grid, pushing up bills for all Australians.”