Contact confirms investment in grid-scale battery

Monday 1st July 2024

Contact has confirmed it will build a 100MW (200MWh duration) grid-scale battery at Glenbrook. This is an exciting step forward for Contact as it delivers on its commitments under the Contact26 strategy. The battery will be located at Glenbrook, adjacent to NZ steel and Transpower’s grid connection point and located closer to Auckland load than any other grid-scale battery project1.

After a competitive tender process, Tesla has been selected to supply its Megapack 2 XL battery energy storage system and to provide commissioning and long-term maintenance services. The agreement with Tesla includes an option to expand the capacity for the battery to 130MW (260MWh) at this site. Contact will manage the project overall and will start construction at the Glenbrook site immediately.

Contact continues to advance further battery investment options and has been granted consent to build another 100MW grid-scale battery in Stratford, Taranaki.

The Glenbrook battery is expected to cost up to $163m2 and be online in Q1 2026. Once operational, it will provide Contact and the market with an important source of renewable electricity flexibility, operating across physical, reserve and frequency-keeping markets. With the New Zealand Aluminium Smelter now confirmed to stay for the long-term, providing improved market certainty, Contact is advancing its plans for investment in new intermittent renewable generation across New Zealand. The battery will support new wind and solar on an intra-day and intra-week basis and ultimately reduce reliance on gas peakers as Contact transitions to a low-carbon future

- ends -

Comments from our readers

No comments yet