Tesla's largest battery energy storage deployment in New Zealand is now live. The Glenbrook Ohurua Battery 1 — a 100MW/200MWh system built from 56 Tesla Megapack 2XL units — went online on May 25, 2026, marking the first Megapack 2XL installation in the country. Contact Energy, the New Zealand power company behind the project, delivered it on time and under budget.
What Was Built
The system sits at New Zealand Steel's Glenbrook site in South Auckland — an industrial location that makes logistical sense for a grid-scale installation of this size. At 100MW of power output and 200MWh of storage capacity, it can supply the equivalent of 44,000 homes during peak winter demand for over two hours. The system responds to grid signals in 0.2 seconds, which is the kind of near-instant response that makes battery storage genuinely useful for grid stability rather than just backup power.
The total project cost came in at NZD 163 million (approximately USD 99.4 million). Tesla handled supply, commissioning, and will manage long-term maintenance. Construction began in July 2024 — meaning the project went from ground-break to grid-connected in under a year.
Project Snapshot
| System Name | Glenbrook Ohurua Battery 1 |
| Capacity | 100MW / 200MWh |
| Units | 56 × Megapack 2XL |
| Grid Response | 0.2 seconds |
| Project Cost | NZD 163M (~USD 99.4M) |
| Construction Start | July 2024 |
| Went Online | May 25, 2026 |
What Comes Next
This isn't the end of Contact Energy's ambitions at Glenbrook. The company has secured an option to expand the site to 130MW, which would make it New Zealand's largest battery storage system. Beyond that, a second installation — Glenbrook Ohurua Battery 2 — is already in planning, projected at 200MW/400MWh and targeted for Q1 2028. If both projects proceed, the Glenbrook site alone would represent a significant share of New Zealand's grid-scale storage capacity.
For Tesla Energy, the New Zealand deployment adds another data point to a growing global footprint. The Megapack 2XL is Tesla's largest storage unit, and seeing it deployed at scale in a market like New Zealand — which runs heavily on renewable hydro generation but faces seasonal demand spikes — underscores how well the product fits grids that need to smooth out renewable variability rather than replace fossil fuel baseload. Whether Contact Energy exercises its expansion option will be worth watching.
Sarah focuses on Tesla Energy, SpaceX missions, and the broader Musk AI portfolio. Former data analyst in clean energy. Based in San Francisco.
Sources verified at publish time. Spotted an inaccuracy? Email editorial@basenor.com.
