New Zealand government-backed utility Genesis Energy has officially opened its first grid-scale battery at the Huntly power station site on the North Island with the 100 MW/200 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) now live.
Genesis Chief Operating Officer Tracey Hickman said the BESS, built alongside the 1.2 GW coal- and gas-fired Huntly power station, adds greater flexibility to the power plant’s role in the company’s energy portfolio and will help support the country’s electricity system during periods of high demand.
“As New Zealand’s electricity supply becomes more renewable and subject to weather, this battery will help smooth out fluctuations in supply, ensuring supply remains reliable and secure,” she said. “The BESS can be turned on almost immediately, making it the fastest-starting asset at Huntly power station and allowing it to respond quickly when extra supply is needed.”
The Huntly BESS is the first phase of a planned multi-stage development that is expected to deliver up to 400 MW / 800 MWh of energy storage capacity at the site, about 100 kilometres south of Auckland.
Genesis said Huntly is an ideal location for a BESS, close to the high-demand centres of Hamilton, Auckland and Tauranga and connected to the national grid directly via Transpower’s Huntley substation.
A second 100 MW/200 MWh BESS has already been approved for the site with construction expected to begin later this year with full operation due in 2028.
Hickman said the project will drive greater portfolio and system flexibility and security, provide support for Genesis’ customer book, and complement the solar farms the company is developing across the country, including a site at Rangiriri just north of Huntly.
French firm Saft, which supplied the 70 battery units for the first stage of the Huntley BESS installed by New Zealand electricity distribution and infrastructure company Northpower, has been engaged to deliver the deliver the next phase of the project.
Genesis said the first stage of the Huntley BESS was delivered just 14 months after construction started at a cost of about NZD 130 million ($73.8 million), several million dollars below budget.
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