Energy storage developer Eku Energy has entered the New Zealand battery energy storage system (BESS) market.
The developer confirmed yesterday (24 June) that it had purchased an undisclosed-sized BESS to be developed in Waikato, on the country’s North Island. The region is home to the country’s largest river and lake.
Energy-Storage.news reached out to Eku Energy on the size of the system, however, it was told that at this stage, the “size and capacity for this development are yet to be confirmed.”
Little else about the project has been revealed at this stage, however, Eku said it will be working with local partner Helios Energy, a renewable energy developer, to progress through the planning approval process.
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Stuart Hillen, director of development and country lead for Australia at Eku Energy, said that Australia and New Zealand have similar characteristics, such as ageing energy infrastructure and an increasing need for firming solutions.
“BESS will deliver greater energy security to New Zealand as the proportion of renewable energy on the grid grows. We are excited to be working with Helios to develop this project and look forward to engaging with potential offtake partners to deliver long-term, flexible firming capacity,” Hillen added.
Eku Energy is an energy storage development platform launched in late 2022 through the Macquarie Asset Management-owned Green Investment Group (GIG).
It has a global pipeline of energy storage projects in the UK, Japan, Australia and more. In Australia, Eku Energy has several operational BESS assets, including the 150MW/150MWh Hazelwood BESS and the 200MW/400MWh Rangebank BESS, both of which are located in Victoria.
The organisation also started construction on the 250MW/500MWh Williamsdale grid-forming BESS in the Australian Capital Territory in November 2024.
Last year, the company discussed how its Australian projects are developed under a variety of different business models, such as merchant, in an exclusive interview on Energy.Storage.news Premium.
Waikato is the home of a 100MW/200MWh BESS being developed by Genesis Energy, a listed New Zealand generation, wholesale, and retail energy company. Construction on the site started earlier this month.
As previously reported by Energy-Storage.news, Saft has been selected as the BESS supplier. Saft will engineer the BESS, located at the Huntly Power Station, a large thermal power plant, as a complete turnkey solution.
