UAE-based renewable energy company Masdar has started commercial operations at its 35-megawatt (MW)/70-megawatt-hour (MWh) Rochdale battery energy storage system (BESS) in the UK, marking another step in its expansion of energy storage projects across the country.
The Rochdale facility is Masdar’s second operational battery storage project in the UK and is part of the company’s planned £1 billion ($1.36 billion) investment programme in British BESS projects.
According to Masdar, the facility can supply enough electricity to meet the daily needs of around 35,000 homes, based on two charging and discharging cycles each day. It will also support the UK electricity grid by providing balancing services.
Masdar’s UK battery storage ambitions expanded following its acquisition of Arlington Energy in 2022. The company subsequently committed to developing a 3-gigawatt-hour (GWh) pipeline of BESS projects across the UK.
“Our continuing rollout of our £1 billion pipeline reflects Masdar’s long-term commitment to the UK,” said Husain Al Meer, Masdar’s Executive Director, Global Offshore Wind & UK.
The expansion comes as the UK seeks to significantly increase its battery storage capacity. The government’s Clean Power 2030 Action Plan targets up to 27GW of battery storage capacity by the end of the decade.
Masdar’s first operational UK BESS project, the 20MW/40MWh Welkin Road facility in Stockport, began commercial operations in December 2025.
The company is also developing battery storage projects in Chesterfield and Cardiff, which together will have a planned capacity of 150MW/300MWh.
Masdar completed financing for the four UK projects last month, securing up to £97 million in financing from SMBC and ING.
Beyond the UK, Masdar is expanding its large-scale renewable energy and storage investments in the UAE. In October last year, the company broke ground on a 24/7 solar and battery storage project in Abu Dhabi. The project combines 5.2GW of solar generation capacity with 19GWh of battery storage and is designed to deliver up to 1GW of baseload power.
Masdar currently has a global renewable energy portfolio exceeding 65GW and aims to increase its capacity to 100GW by 2030.
