Grid-scale battery storage facility launches in NZ

New Zealand’s Minister of Energy, Dr Megan Woods, has launched the country’s first grid-scale battery storage facility in Auckland.

Tesla’s Powerpack battery, commissioned by energy company Mercury at its Research and Development centre in South Auckland, is part of an ambitious project to test the direct integration of battery energy storage with New Zealand’s electricity grid. Mercury will also gather learnings around trading energy storage, and the relationship of stored electricity to the renewable hydro and geothermal electricity sources in its generation portfolio.

“Battery storage is a fast-developing technology with potential to support our country’s existing globally envied renewable electricity supply,” said Fraser Whineray, Mercury’s Chief Executive.

“Mercury’s mission is energy freedom for New Zealand and everyone who lives here, and this means offering new ways that sustainable energy is provided. Advances in battery technology are also fundamental to electrification of cars and trucks; they’re all part of the same energy ecosystem.”

Mercury has invested nearly $3 million in this project, to learn more about how battery storage can more efficiently and flexibly use current generation capability to meet consumers’ demand peaks in tandem with New Zealand’s large renewable energy storage in hydro lakes.

It is the first large-scale battery in New Zealand to be directly grid-connected, and is located next door to the national grid’s ‘main highway’ into Auckland. This means learnings from the trial will ultimately contribute to the security of supply for Auckland’s homes and businesses, with the capacity to be expanded for large-scale storage, trading and supply to the national electricity market.

Animation: How battery storage could work in New Zealand’s wholesale electricity market.

As battery solutions evolve, making larger-scale storage economical, this technology could effectively smooth demand for the electricity that powers New Zealand, leading to reduced reliance on non-renewable generation in times of high demand. The potential scale of the grid-connected battery storage facility is 100 MW — comparable in output to a medium-sized geothermal or hydro power station — with the potential to power 30,000 Kiwi homes during a two-hour peak on a winter’s evening.

“We are really pleased to have worked with Mercury to enable this innovative project to operate on the grid,” said John Clarke, General Manager Operations at Transpower.

“We see battery storage as playing an increasingly important role in providing a reliable supply of electricity in New Zealand, as we increase our reliance on wind and solar to generate our electricity. We look forward to continuing to work with Mercury throughout the trial and gather key learnings to enable the transition to New Zealand’s sustainable energy future.”

Image caption: Mercury Chief Executive Fraser Whineray with Minister of Energy Dr Megan Woods at the launch of New Zealand’s first grid-scale battery storage facility.