Proposed Lease of Community Land for Community Battery

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Mount Barker District Council is seeking your feedback on a proposal to grant a 15-year lease over part of Council-owned community land known as Weld Park, Mount Barker.

This lease would allow the installation and operation of a Community Battery, designed to deliver cleaner, more affordable energy to local residents facing cost-of-living pressures.

This Community Battery is part of the emPowering SA program, a South Australian Government initiative delivering 18 community batteries across the state in partnership with energy retailer AGL. The project is also supported by the Australian Government's $200m Community Batteries for Household Solar program through the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency's Advancing Renewables Program. Other batteries under the emPowering SA project have already been successfully installed in Magill, Edwardstown, Port Pirie and Elizabeth Park.

The battery will store excess energy from the grid when renewable energy is abundant.

It will then make that energy available at night, during periods of high demand, or when the grid needs support.

Every household benefiting from the battery will be in a home that cannot support its own solar panels or a battery. This ensures these South Australians are not locked out from accessing renewable energy technologies and the benefits it can provide.

Watch how it works


Why this location?

Council and emPowering SA have worked collaboratively to assess many sites across the entire Council area. Prior to identifying Weld Park, many potential locations were investigated. Site selection is influenced by several factors including land tenure, available space, proximity to existing electricity infrastructure and the technical requirements for connection to the electricity network and environmental considerations such as existing vegetation.

The total lease area is approximately 94.5m2 which caters for the equipment located on two outdoor concrete slabs measuring approximately 12m x 7m and 3m x 3.5m.

What’s the decision to be made?

Council is considering whether to grant a 15-year lease on the identified portion of land to allow for the installation and operation of the battery. Your feedback will directly inform Council’s decision about proceeding with the lease.

Want to learn more?

You can find answers to common questions about how the battery works, who benefits, what it will look like, and information about safety, noise, and maintenance in the FAQs in the document library on this page or visit emPowering SA | Energy & Mining to learn more about the project.

How to provide your feedback

Council is seeking feedback on the proposed to provide a 15-year lease on community land located over a portion of Weld Park, Mount Barker to house a community battery. It is proposed the battery will be installed in a small container onsite. Consultation is open from 16 September to 7 October 2026 and you can provide feedback by:

Mount Barker District Council is seeking your feedback on a proposal to grant a 15-year lease over part of Council-owned community land known as Weld Park, Mount Barker.

This lease would allow the installation and operation of a Community Battery, designed to deliver cleaner, more affordable energy to local residents facing cost-of-living pressures.

This Community Battery is part of the emPowering SA program, a South Australian Government initiative delivering 18 community batteries across the state in partnership with energy retailer AGL. The project is also supported by the Australian Government's $200m Community Batteries for Household Solar program through the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency's Advancing Renewables Program. Other batteries under the emPowering SA project have already been successfully installed in Magill, Edwardstown, Port Pirie and Elizabeth Park.

The battery will store excess energy from the grid when renewable energy is abundant.

It will then make that energy available at night, during periods of high demand, or when the grid needs support.

Every household benefiting from the battery will be in a home that cannot support its own solar panels or a battery. This ensures these South Australians are not locked out from accessing renewable energy technologies and the benefits it can provide.

Watch how it works


Why this location?

Council and emPowering SA have worked collaboratively to assess many sites across the entire Council area. Prior to identifying Weld Park, many potential locations were investigated. Site selection is influenced by several factors including land tenure, available space, proximity to existing electricity infrastructure and the technical requirements for connection to the electricity network and environmental considerations such as existing vegetation.

The total lease area is approximately 94.5m2 which caters for the equipment located on two outdoor concrete slabs measuring approximately 12m x 7m and 3m x 3.5m.

What’s the decision to be made?

Council is considering whether to grant a 15-year lease on the identified portion of land to allow for the installation and operation of the battery. Your feedback will directly inform Council’s decision about proceeding with the lease.

Want to learn more?

You can find answers to common questions about how the battery works, who benefits, what it will look like, and information about safety, noise, and maintenance in the FAQs in the document library on this page or visit emPowering SA | Energy & Mining to learn more about the project.

How to provide your feedback

Council is seeking feedback on the proposed to provide a 15-year lease on community land located over a portion of Weld Park, Mount Barker to house a community battery. It is proposed the battery will be installed in a small container onsite. Consultation is open from 16 September to 7 October 2026 and you can provide feedback by:

Page last updated: 17 Sep 2026, 02:58 PM