If you have solar in Townsville, your panels may make more power than your home needs during the day.
The extra power is sent into the electricity grid. This is called solar export.
Ergon Energy Retail currently pays eligible regional Queensland customers 6.006 cents for each kilowatt-hour (kWh)of solar power they export.
But when the sun goes down, your home may need to buy power from the grid. A home on Ergon’s standard Tariff 11 currently pays 28.895 cents per kWh.
To keep it simple:
You send solar out for about 6¢. You may buy power back for about 29¢.
That is a big difference. It is also one reason more Townsville families are looking at home batteries.
What are Ergon’s big battery banks?
Ergon Energy Network has installed large batteries across Queensland.
Ergon currently lists three battery sites operating around Townsville:
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Bohle Plains
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Black River
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Rasmussen
These are not small home batteries. Ergon says each community network battery is a large 4 MW / 8 MWh system.
During the day, Townsville homes can make lots of extra solar power. The battery banks can store some of this power. They can then release energy when more people need it, such as later in the day.
These battery banks can help the electricity grid by:
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making room for more rooftop solar;
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reducing pressure on the grid;
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storing daytime energy for later; and
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helping keep the power supply steady.
This is good for the wider electricity network. But there is one important point.
The community battery is not your battery
A community battery does not give you your own personal supply of stored power.
When your solar is exported, you receive the feed-in tariff. You do not get that same amount of power returned to your home for free at night.
The simple numbers tell the story.
If you export 10 kWh of solar, you receive about 60 cents in credit at the current rate.
If you later buy 10 kWh from the grid on Tariff 11, it costs about $2.89.
That is a difference of about $2.29 for every 10 kWh.
The 29¢ electricity price pays for more than just the electricity itself. It also helps cover the poles, wires, network, retail service and other costs. It is not correct to say Ergon simply sells your exact power straight back to you.
But the result for your household is still clear. The solar you export is worth much less than the power you buy later.
How can a home battery help?
A home battery stores more of your solar power at your own home.
Instead of sending all your extra solar to the grid for about 6¢ per kWh, you can save more of it for later. When the sun goes down, your home can use power from your battery instead of buying as much from the grid.
A home battery may help you:
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use more of your own solar;
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buy less electricity at night;
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depend less on low feed-in tariffs;
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protect yourself from future electricity price changes; and
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keep selected appliances running in a blackout, if your system includes backup power.
The solar feed-in tariff has dropped
The regional Queensland feed-in tariff was 8.660¢ per kWh from 1 July 2025.
From 1 July 2026, it dropped to 6.006¢ per kWh.
Ergon says this is because there is now a large amount of cheap solar energy being made during the day.
The problem is that most families still need plenty of power in the evening. This is when solar panels are making little or no power.
A battery helps move your solar power from the middle of the day to the evening, when your home needs it most.
Is a home battery right for you?
A battery is not the same for every home.
The right battery size depends on:
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how much solar your system makes;
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how much solar you export;
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how much power you use at night;
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your electricity tariff; and
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whether you want blackout protection.
Barra Solar Power can check your real power bills and usage. We can show you how much power you send to the grid and how much you buy back later.
The community battery helps the electricity network. Your own battery helps keep more of your solar working for your home.
Find out what a battery could do for your power bill
Talk to the trusted local team at Barra Solar Power for a free solar and battery assessment.
Go to Barra.