Masdar boosts presence in UK with second battery energy storage project

Abu Dhabi's Masdar has opened its second battery energy storage system (BESS) project in the United Kingdom, expanding its presence as demand for clean energy rises. The 35 megawatt/70 megawatt hour plant in Rochdale, near Manchester, has the capacity to power 35,000 homes daily. This follows the December launch of a project in Stockport.

Masdar is also developing two additional projects in Chesterfield and Cardiff, which together will have a combined capacity of 150 megawatts. These four projects form part of Masdar's £1 billion (£1.3 billion) investment in BESS projects across the UK, as the government aims for up to 27 gigawatts of battery storage by the end of the decade.

The financing for these projects was secured last month, with Masdar obtaining up to £97 million from SMBC and ING. Husain Al Meer, Masdar's executive director of global offshore wind & UK, emphasized the importance of battery storage in maintaining a secure, reliable, and affordable electricity network as electricity demand grows and renewable generation expands.

BESS solutions play a crucial role in integrating renewables into modern electricity networks by storing energy during periods of low demand and releasing it at peak times, helping to balance and stabilize the intermittent supply from renewable sources and boost clean energy supply to the grid. Masdar is also involved in offshore wind projects in the UK, including a €5.2 billion co-investment with Iberdrola in the 1.4GW East Anglia Three offshore wind unit and the 3GW Dogger Bank South offshore wind farm being developed with Germany's RWE.

With a combined capacity of over 65GW, Masdar has developed projects in various countries. The company's global goal is to reach 100GW of renewable capacity by 2030, signing agreements to develop solar and hydro energy storage projects in Montenegro as part of its European expansion plans. Although renewable energy expansion is rapid, it is not growing quickly enough to meet 2030 targets, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency, which stated in a report that capacity needs to grow by at least 16.4% annually to achieve the tripling target set at the Cop28 climate conference in Dubai.