Masdar Brings Second UK Battery Storage Plant Online in £1 Billion Pipeline

Masdar has begun commercial operations at its 35 megawatt, 70 megawatt-hour battery energy storage project in Rochdale, England, its second such facility in the UK, providing enough clean power for 35,000 homes daily based on two charging and discharging cycles per day. The project forms part of Masdar's planned £1 billion investment in a 3 gigawatt-hour pipeline of UK battery storage projects, following the company's 2022 acquisition of Arlington Energy.

 

The Rochdale plant is designed to respond to fluctuations in electricity supply and demand within milliseconds, providing grid balancing services to help maintain network stability as more variable renewable generation enters the UK's electricity mix. That rapid response capability allows the facility to charge during periods of low demand or surplus renewable generation and discharge during peak demand periods, a function increasingly important as renewable energy's share of the UK grid continues growing.

 

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The project follows Masdar's 20MW/40MWh Welkin Road facility in Stockport, which began commercial operations in December, with the company also developing additional projects in Chesterfield and Cardiff with a combined capacity of 150MW/300MWh. Project financing across all four sites was completed last month, with Masdar securing up to £97 million from SMBC and ING. The broader UK pipeline aligns with the government's Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, which targets building up to 27 gigawatts of battery storage nationally by the end of the decade.

 

Husain Al Meer, Masdar's executive director for global offshore wind and UK, framed the Rochdale milestone as reflecting the company's long-term commitment to UK energy security, tying battery storage's growing importance directly to rising electricity demand and continued renewable energy expansion. Beyond battery storage, Masdar holds a broader UK renewable energy position including a €5.2 billion co-investment with Iberdrola in the 1.4GW East Anglia THREE offshore wind facility and the 3GW Dogger Bank South offshore wind farm developed with RWE, part of a global portfolio exceeding 65GW of renewable capacity with a stated pathway to 100GW by 2030.

 

Source: Masdar