Abu Dhabi: Masdar Arlington Energy, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – Masdar, announced that it has broken ground at the sites of two new battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in the UK.
The Royle Barn Road plant in Rochdale and Welkin Road plant in Stockport will have a combined capacity of 55MW and provide enough energy to power 25,700 homes.
Masdar Arlington Energy is pursuing an ambitious 3GWh pipeline of BESS projects in the UK. The latest groundbreaking comes a year after Masdar announced the company’s commitment to invest £1 billion in BESS in the UK.
BESS provides a solution to the intermittency issues which affect renewable energy sources, storing excess electricity generated by solar plants and wind farms to be distributed during the periods when they are unable to provide power.
Masdar Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, said: “To achieve the global energy transition agreed in the UAE Consensus, we need to utilize world-changing renewable energy sources and technology, including wind, solar and battery energy storage. The two BESS plants we are breaking ground on today underline the critical role energy storage will play in helping energy systems and infrastructure in the UK and across the globe to move away from carbon-intensive sources of power.”
Masdar Director, Global Offshore Wind & UK, Husain Al Meer, said: “Grid-level energy storage is critical to the long-term adoption of renewable energy in the grid. Our £1 billion investment in BESS in the UK highlights Masdar’s commitment to advancing storage solutions to help commercialize clean technologies. Today’s announcement adds to our growing portfolio of BESS projects around the globe with more to come in the future.”
Established in 2006, Masdar is active in more than 40 countries and has more than 20GW of capacity including operational, under construction or advanced development projects in its worldwide portfolio. Masdar has invested, or committed to invest, in worldwide projects with a combined value of more than US$30 billion with ambitious growth plans to reach 100GW by 2030.
