The new Battery Energy Storage System should help even out electricity supply and demand peaks and troughs for Northland, Meridian says. From left, project manager Mike Wilson and field service engineer Minh Nguyen with some of the battery modules, on Friday. Photo: RNZ/ Peter de Graaf
New Zealand's first super-sized grid-connected battery - built at a cost of $186 million - will help improve Northland's energy resilience in future power outages, Meridian Energy says.
The company said its Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) would also help smooth out power peaks and troughs, by storing energy when electricity is cheap and releasing it at times of peak demand, such as early mornings and evenings.
The battery park consisted of 80 shipping-container-sized batteries spread over a two-hectare site at Marsden Point, next the former oil refinery south of Whangārei.
Photo: Supplied/ Meridian Energy
Project director Alan de Lima said at full capacity the giant battery could supply 100 megawatts (MW) of power, enough for 60,000 homes or about half Northland's population, for two hours.
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It had been connected to the grid since the beginning of the year and would start operating as soon as final tests had been signed off.
"We're very pleased to be the first to get this to market and get into operation … Storage is key in this country, and this battery provides a large amount of storage that helps the whole network and provides more resilience for the entire grid," de Lima said.
The facility was in essence one very big battery made up of hundreds of thousands of lithium-ion cells, he said.
"We'll charge it when power prices are low or when there's not much demand, typically overnight, or when there's lots of wind and lots of solar.
"Then we can wait until the demand is higher and release the energy into the grid then. Typically, that would be in the morning and evening peaks, but also if there's an issue in the grid."
Saft field service engineer Minh Nguyen with one of the 80 containerised batteries that make up New Zealand's first grid-scale battery, on 23 May 2025. Photo: RNZ/ Peter de Graaf
The site, just 1km from Northland's biggest port and across the road from a Transpower substation, was ideal.
General manager of development Guy Waipara said the battery was the company's first project in Northland.
It was also stage one of Meridian's planned Ruakākā Energy Park.
Stage two would involve building a $227m 130MW solar farm, with 250,000 panels spread over 172ha of land next to the battery.
Work was due to start in August with power expected to start flowing in early 2027.
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Averaged out throughout the year, the solar farm would produce enough power to supply half Northland's needs, Waipara said.
"The battery will really come into its own during times of peak stress on the electricity system. Think of it a bit like your EV at home - you charge it up overnight when power is plentiful and cheap. When power is scarce and more expensive, that's when the battery comes in operation."
Asked if the two projects would bring down electricity bills in Northland - the Far North especially has some of the highest power prices in the country - Waipara said every new generation project put downward pressure on prices.
Local contractors were used as much as possible and a large wetland would be restored during construction of the solar farm.
Many more grid-connected batteries were in the pipeline throughout the country, Waipara said.
Contact was building one at Glenbrook, south of Auckland; Genesis had one under construction in Huntly; and Meridian had another consented at Bunnythorpe in Manawatū.
Meridian board chairman Mark Verbiest said the accidental toppling of a pylon last year and subsequent Northland-wide power outage, illustrated the need for greater energy resilience in the region.
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The giant battery was symbolically launched on Friday afternoon by Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones and Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation Shane Reti, with the two Northland-based MPs flicking on a giant-sized switch.
From left, Meridian chairman Mark Verbiest and ministers Shane Reti and Shane Jones. Photo: RNZ/ Peter de Graaf
The batteries were manufactured in China for French company Saft.
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