The site of the new complex. Photo: Elyse Simich.

A new precinct to be built in White Gum Valley will generate and sell its own electricity.

Three apartment complexes will be built, starting tomorrow, and will use photovoltaic solar panels and batteries to create and store the energy, which can then be sold back to the grid.

It is one of nine projects to receive a share of $17.2 million in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.

These projects all relate to industry research and collaboration, and involve universities such as Curtin University and companies including LandCorp, Synergy and Lendlease.

Peter Newman from Curtin University’s Sustainability Policy Institute said CUSP had been involved in the world-first project from the start.

Dr Newman said this was a new model, where the strata company became the utility, and it would allow the houses with batteries to generate electricity and provide it to others in the precinct.

“What will happen is they will make more power than they need so they’ll export that to others in this development, for a start, who don’t have batteries,” he said.

“And they can sell it to the wider region.”

ARENA event manager Sarah Jones said: “Some of these projects are in such an early stage that they don’t attract commercial investment.

“So, it’s really important that we can fund those really early research and development projects.”