Residents in the Mandurah suburb of Meadow Springs have been selected to take part in an Australian-first communal battery trial.

The 105kW (420kWh) Tesla powerpack battery installed in a neighbourhood park will allow 52 surrounding houses with solar panels to store the excess power generated during the day and draw on it in the peak evening period.

The Tesla battery in Meadow Springs.

The battery is a smaller version of the 100-megawatt Tesla lithium ion battery installed in South Australia in 2017.

Unlike Tesla's powerwall battery, which is installed at the home level, the powerpack is fed and accessed by an entire neighbourhood.