National Grid to site biggest substation in UK near planned Teesside datacentre

National Grid has made significant progress towards constructing Britain's largest electricity substation on Teesside, a move that could potentially attract investment for a massive AI datacentre in the region. The company recently agreed to purchase 29.5 hectares of land at Dorman Point, owned by Teesworks, a local private-public partnership. This deal was reported by Sky News and stems from the UK government's selection of Teesworks as the site for a new AI datacentre.

The development of the substation aligns with the government's commitment to supporting AI and digital technologies in the region, as reported by Matt Pearce, National Grid's head of land. Pearce emphasized that this infrastructure would enable the region to compete on a global scale and support its next phase of industrial and economic development.

Ben Houchen, mayor of the Tees Valley combined authority, echoed these sentiments, stating that the substation would allow the area to finally compete for AI projects that have been moving overseas.

The UK government has recently published a draft national policy statement on datacentres, recognizing their importance to the economy. The statement highlights the need for the country to control the development of datacentres and ensure that both the country and host communities benefit from them. However, the rapid construction of datacentres in the UK has faced strong opposition from various groups, with protests occurring in places such as Auchtertool and Brick Lane.

The project to build the substation is expected to be carried out by Balfour Beatty, with Steel River Power (SRP) also heavily involved. Both companies were approached for comment regarding the development.