Where is New Zealand's biggest planned battery energy storage system?

Image: Vector Energy Development approvals have been granted for New Zealand’s biggest planned battery energy storage system (BESS) to date. The 100MW battery storage project is in development by electricity generator and retailer Meridian Energy at Ruākākā on New Zealand’s North Island. The site is adjacent to Marsden Point, a former oil refinery.

Which energy company is building New Zealand's first grid-connected battery energy storage system?

Meridian Energy is building New Zealand’s first large-scale grid-connected battery energy storage system (BESS) at Ruakākā on North Island Paris, January 10, 2023 – Saft, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies, has been awarded a major contract by Meridian Energy to construct New Zealand’s first large-scale grid-connected BESS.

How will a battery storage system benefit New Zealand?

The battery storage will help to reduce these events by smoothing the distribution of supply and demand,” Knott said. The system will charge with cheap energy during off-peak hours and send it back to the grid at times of high demand. It will also enable more power generated on New Zealand’s South Island to be utilised in the north.

Who has been contracted to build a battery energy storage system?

Project partners WEL Networks — and electricity distribution company — and renewable energy developer Infratec announced this week that major equipment suppliers have been contracted for the project. Construction will commence in New Zealand on the country’s biggest battery energy storage system (BESS) project so far in July.

What is the NZ battery project?

A more detailed report may reveal material issues that this report has not identified. The NZ Battery Project was set up in 2020 to explore possible renewable energy storage solutions for when our hydro lakes run low for long periods. A pumped hydro scheme at Lake Onslow was one of the options being explored.

What is New Zealand's first megawatt-scale battery storage system?

The country’s first megawatt-scale battery storage system is thought to have been a 1MW/2.3MWh project completed in 2016 using the Tesla Powerpack, Tesla’s first iteration of an industrial and grid-scale BESS solution. However the first BESS to be connected to the high-voltage transmission grid in New Zealand came two years after that.