National Grid to site biggest substation on Teesside, near planned AI datacentre
National Grid has agreed to purchase 73 acres of land on Teesside for Britain's biggest electricity substation, which could power a vast planned AI datacentre.
National Grid has taken a step towards building Britain's biggest electricity substation on Teesside, which could supply power to a vast neighbouring datacentre, as the UK races to expand its AI infrastructure. Last week the company agreed to purchase 73 acres of land at Dorman Point on a site owned by Teesworks, a local private-public partnership.
Government Support
The deal follows reports last year that the UK government had picked Teesworks as the site for a new artificial intelligence datacentre, with planning applications submitted for a project of nearly 500,000 sq metres. Last week, the government published a draft national policy statement on datacentres, describing them as 'as fundamental to our economy as the railways and electricity networks on which we have long depended.'
Regional Competition
Ben Houchen, the Tees Valley combined authority mayor, emphasized the importance of the project for UK competitiveness. 'Everyone who has tried to build a datacentre in this country knows the biggest problem is getting enough power to the site quickly,' he said. 'Having up to 3.2GW of capacity here means we can finally compete for those projects.'
If Britain is serious about having its own AI capability, with sensitive data stored safely on British soil, it needs somewhere to physically put it, and I'd much rather that was Teesside than Texas or Abu Dhabi.
Infrastructure Partners
Matt Pearce, head of land at National Grid, highlighted the collaborative nature of the project: 'The deal reflects the constructive work between all those involved to enable this vital infrastructure … and will support the growth of AI and digital technologies.' Balfour Beatty, the London-listed infrastructure services group, was reported to be in line to deliver the Teesworks substation for National Grid, with Steel River Power also heavily involved.
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