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Double A batteries may be enough to power our remote controls, but it takes something with just a tad more power to light up Franklin.
Thanks to a new grid-scale battery in Glenbrook, the equivalent of 44,000 homes can now be powered for up to two hours at peak demand.
At full capacity, Glenbrook Ohurua Battery 1 will produce 100 megawatts from largely renewable energy sources, Contact Energy CEO Mike Fuge confirms.
“In simple terms, this battery not only helps keep the lights on, reliably and sustainably, but more than that, it shows how New Zealand can turn its renewable advantage into economic opportunity, supporting electrification, creating jobs and powering a more secure and self-reliant future.”
The battery stores largely renewable energy when demand is low and supplies it back to the grid when demand is high.
Built on land leased from NZ Steel, the battery was officially opened by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon last week.
The $151 million energy storage system will help provide long-term security to New Zealand’s energy supply, Fuge expects.
With rapid decline in the gas market, Contact’s battery system strengthens winter energy resilience while demonstrating how New Zealand can build a better energy system, he says.
“This is more than new infrastructure; it represents a shift in how we power New Zealand’s future. As we move toward a highly renewable system, flexibility from assets like this battery support energy security when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow.
“It also reduces exposure to global energy shocks and builds a more independent energy system for New Zealand.”
However, there’s more to come – work has already begun on Glenbrook Ohurua Battery 2, which is expected to be online in early 2028. Together, the batteries will provide up to 300MW of capacity, enough to power the equivalent of 132,000 homes for up to two hours during peak demand.
Ninety-eight per cent of the energy Contact generates is now renewable, Fuge says. Consequently, New Zealand is developing one of the most renewable electricity systems in the world.
