The country’s largest grid-connected battery to store 100 megawatts of power – enough to power 60,000 households for two hours over winter – will start in Whangārei next year.

Last month, Meridian Energy received resource consent from Whangārei District Council and Northland Regional Council to go ahead with the plan to build the massive battery farm on an area the size of two rugby fields on land next to Channel Infrastructure – the former Marsden Pt Oil Refinery.

Meridian said the business case stacks up and it will now definitely go ahead with what will be the country’s largest grid-connected battery energy storage system on Rama Rd in Ruakākā. This will be the first stage of Meridian’s Ruakākā Energy Park, which may also later house a 125MW solar farm.

Meridian Energy will begin construction of the Ruakākā Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in the first quarter of 2023. The project will construct New Zealand’s first large-scale grid battery storage system, providing Meridian with a versatile North Island asset, situated south of Whangārei.

Meridian Chief Executive Neal Barclay said the company’s approach to a battery storage system has evolved during its development phase.

“A North Island battery was originally part of our response package to Rio Tinto’s termination of its electricity contract for the Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter. As we developed the opportunity, the BESS business case proved to be an economic investment irrespective of Rio Tinto’s future in New Zealand,” Barclay said.

He said the BESS offers multiple new revenue streams, providing the ability to load shift between price periods and to participate in the North Island reserve electricity market.

“As intermittent renewable generation increases in this country, the Ruakākā Battery Energy Storage System will help manage supply fluctuations through a low carbon footprint, reducing this country’s reliance on fossil fuels,” Barclay said.

“We have a bold vision for Ruakākā, with a grid-scale solar farm planned to further speed up our transition to a productive low carbon economy. The shared infrastructure provided by the BESS will significantly improve the economics of the future solar farm.’’

Global battery specialist Saft will provide integrated battery supply, installation, commissioning and operational services for the Ruakākā BESS.

The battery storage will be on land Meridian bought from Rio Tinto. It is expected to be completed in 2024.