May 25, 2026
The BESS marks Tesla’s first Megapack 2XL deployment in New Zealand. Image: Contact Energy.
New Zealand gentailer Contact Energy has brought online its first grid-scale battery energy storage system (BESS), a 100MW/200MWh installation at New Zealand Steel’s Glenbrook site in South Auckland.
The Glenbrook Ohurua Battery 1, features 56 Tesla Megapack 2XL units, has a duration of up to 2-hours and can respond to grid signals in 0.2 seconds.
Contact Energy CEO Mike Fuge described the battery storage system as “a bit like the Swiss Army Knife of the electricity system,” capable of storing excess renewable energy generated during off-peak periods and discharging it rapidly when demand spikes.
