Across Australia, local councils are facing two converging challenges: rising energy costs and increasing pressure to ensure community resilience during extreme weather events. With electricity prices becoming unpredictable and networks experiencing more frequent outages, councils are rethinking how they power their facilities.
Solar + battery systems have emerged as one of the most effective ways to reduce operational costs, strengthen energy independence, and support essential services. In this blog, we explore how councils can use these systems strategically; not just to save money, but to improve reliability, support sustainability goals, and protect residents during emergencies.
Traditionally, councils adopted solar to reduce electricity bills and support climate commitments. Today, the motivation goes far deeper.
Councils now need:
Solar alone cannot provide backup power. But paired with modern battery systems and hybrid inverters, councils gain the ability to store solar energy, run facilities during blackouts, and significantly reduce reliance on the grid.
1. Substantial Energy Cost Reductions
Solar systems generate electricity during daylight hours, reducing consumption from the grid. When combined with batteries, councils can:
This creates immediate and long-term savings across:
For budget-constrained councils, these savings become highly attractive.
2. Backup Power for Critical FacilitiesDuring storms, fires, and prolonged outages, certain council buildings must remain operational:
Solar alone shuts down in a blackout, but solar + battery systems with backup-capable inverters provide seamless, automatic islanding, keeping the site powered.
This ensures:
remain operational for hours or days, depending on system size.
3. Long-Term Protection from Energy Price Volatility
Electricity pricing is becoming more complex and more volatile. Batteries help councils control exposure to peak rates by allowing:
This makes budgeting more predictable.
4. Better Use of Underutilised Buildings
Many council buildings have large roofs ideal for solar, but have historically been underused during the day.
Examples:
By pairing solar with battery storage, councils can transform these sites into community resilience hubs, capable of powering essential services during emergencies while saving money year-round.
5. Alignment with Sustainability and Net-Zero Goals
Solar + battery installations support:
Battery systems also avoid diesel generator use, reducing noise, fumes, fire risk, and emissions.
A strategic rollout involves more than installing panels wherever there’s roof space. Councils should follow a structured approach:
Focus on facilities that:
Understanding how energy is used across time helps determine:
For council-scale resilience, LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) is preferred for:
Standard solar inverters cannot provide backup during outages. Councils must choose:
This ensures resilience during blackouts.
By adding mobile units, like the BuffaloSPS Power Generation Trailer; councils gain flexible power that can be:
This creates a layered resilience approach.
Advanced monitoring allows councils to track:
This simplifies reporting for internal teams and community engagement.
Case Example: A Typical Council Deployment
A medium-sized regional council might deploy:
During normal operations, this system reduces bills by 30–60%.
During outages, it becomes a lifeline for residents.
Solar + battery systems allow councils to achieve cost savings, reduce carbon emissions, and provide essential resilience for their communities. With weather events becoming more intense and grid reliability decreasing, the ability to produce and store energy locally is no longer a “green initiative”, it’s a necessity.
Buffalo Stand-Alone Power Solutions works with councils across Australia to design tailored solar-battery systems and resilience plans that align with budgets, emergency needs, building portfolios, and long-term sustainability goals.