National Grid moves to site UK’s biggest substation near planned Teesside datacentre
Substation plan advances
National Grid has taken a step towards building a major electricity substation on Teesside. It could supply power to a large datacentre planned nearby as the UK seeks to expand its AI infrastructure.
The move follows reports last year that the government had selected Teesworks for a new artificial intelligence datacentre. Planning applications were submitted for a project covering nearly 500,000 sq metres.
Power and investment
Ben Houchen, mayor of the Tees Valley combined authority, told Sky News that access to power was a major obstacle to building datacentres in the UK. He said capacity of up to 3.2GW could allow the region to compete for investment.
Houchen said other regions, including the US, the Gulf and parts of Europe, had been attracting investment while UK projects waited for power. The article describes the proposed capacity as a potential draw for large-scale AI infrastructure.
Expansion faces opposition
At the same time, campaign groups have opposed planned UK datacentre developments. Protests have taken place in locations including Auchtertool, north of Edinburgh, and Brick Lane in east London.
Key points
- National Grid has moved towards building a major substation on Teesside.
- The proposed facility could supply a planned datacentre at Teesworks.
- Planning applications cover a project spanning nearly 500,000 sq metres.
- Ben Houchen said capacity of up to 3.2GW could help attract investment.