National Grid to build UK's biggest substation on Teesside

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 1 Nov, 17:32 · Archive

National Grid has agreed to build Britain's biggest electricity substation on Teesside to supply power to a planned AI datacentre.

National Grid has agreed to purchase 73 acres of land at Dorman Point on Teesside, owned by Teesworks, a local private-public partnership. The substation would be Britain's biggest and is intended to supply power to a neighbouring AI datacentre project.

The deal follows reports last year that the UK government had selected Teesworks as the site for a new artificial intelligence datacentre. Planning applications have been submitted for a project covering nearly 500,000 square metres.

Matt Pearce, head of land at National Grid, said the deal reflected constructive work to enable vital infrastructure and would support AI and digital technology growth in the region. Ben Houchen, Tees Valley combined authority mayor, told Sky News that the biggest problem in building datacentres in Britain has been securing enough power quickly. He said that with up to 3.2GW of capacity available, the Tees Valley could finally compete for major datacentre investment projects.

How it is being reported

• National Grid to site biggest substation on Teesside, near planned AI datacentreNew electricity generating capacity would enable north-east to attract investment for major datacentre projects 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. The deal was first reported by Sky News. Continue reading...Guardian Business · 1 Nov, 17:10
• National Grid sparks deal to pave way for giant UK data centreNational Grid has struck a deal paving the way for Britain’s biggest electricity substation to be built on Teesside as the government races to avoid missing out on global demand for AI infrastructure development.Sky News · 1 Nov, 07:43

In this story: National Grid · Teesside · Teesworks · Tees Valley combined authority · Ben Houchen · Matt Pearce

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log