Abu Dhabi’s Masdar has launched its second battery energy storage system (BESS) project in the UK, as the company continues to boost its presence there amid higher demand for clean energy.
The 35 megawatt/70 megawatt hours plant in Rochdale, near Manchester, will provide enough clean energy to power 35,000 homes a day. It follows the launch of another project in nearby Stockport in December, Masdar said on Monday.
Masdar is also developing two more projects in British cities Chesterfield and Cardiff, which will have a combined capacity of 150MW.
All four projects form part of Masdar’s £1 billion ($1.3 billion) investment commitment to BESS projects in the UK, as the government targets up to 27 gigawatts of battery storage by the end of this decade.
Financing for the four projects was successfully completed last month, with Masdar securing up to £97 million from SMBC and ING.
“As electricity demand grows and renewable generation continues to expand, battery storage is becoming an increasingly vital component of maintaining a secure, reliable and affordable electricity network,” said Husain Al Meer, executive director of global offshore wind & UK at Masdar. “Our continuing roll-out of our £1 billion pipeline reflects Masdar's long-term commitment to the UK.”
BESS solutions are critical to integrating renewables into modern electricity networks, providing flexible energy to the grid by storing energy in periods of low demand and releasing it at peak times. The technology helps to balance and stabilise the intermittent supply from renewable sources and helps to boost clean energy supply to the grid.
Masdar is also active in offshore wind projects in the UK. This includes a €5.2 billion co-investment with Iberdrola in the 1.4GW East Anglia Three offshore wind unit, which will power the equivalent of 1.3 million homes, and the 3GW Dogger Bank South offshore wind farm being developed in partnership with Germany’s RWE.
Masdar, jointly owned by Taqa, Adnoc and Mubadala, has developed projects in a number of countries with a combined capacity of more than 65GW.
The company’s global ambition is to reach 100 100GW of renewable capacity by 2030.
Last month, the company signed an agreement with Montenegro’s national power utility, Elektroprivreda Crne Gore, to develop two solar projects and a hydro energy storage project as part of its European expansion plans.
Although renewable energy is expanding rapidly, it is not growing fast enough to meet targets set for 2030, the International Renewable Energy Agency said last year.
Capacity needs to grow by at least 16.4 per cent annually until 2030 to achieve the tripling target pledged at the Cop28 climate conference in Dubai, the Abu Dhabi-based agency said in a report.
