National Grid to build UK's largest substation in Teesside for AI datacentre

Land Acquisition for Major Substation

National Grid has acquired 29.5 hectares (73 acres) of land at Dorman Point in Teesside from Teesworks, a local private-public partnership. This acquisition is a step towards constructing Britain's largest electricity substation.

The substation is intended to provide power to a large artificial intelligence datacentre planned for the adjacent area. This move follows earlier reports that the UK government had selected Teesworks as a site for a new AI datacentre.

Powering AI Infrastructure

The planned substation will offer up to 3.2GW of power capacity. This capacity is crucial for supporting the energy demands of the proposed AI datacentre, which is expected to span nearly 500,000 square meters.

Matt Pearce, head of land at National Grid, stated that this infrastructure will support the growth of AI and digital technologies, contributing to the region's industrial and economic development.

Addressing Power Supply Challenges

Ben Houchen, Mayor of the Tees Valley combined authority, highlighted that securing sufficient and rapid power supply is a significant challenge for datacentre development in the UK. He noted that the 3.2GW capacity will allow the UK to compete with other regions for AI infrastructure investments.

The government recently published a draft national policy statement on datacentres, emphasizing their fundamental role in the economy, comparable to railways and electricity networks.

Context of Datacentre Development

While this development aims to bolster the UK's AI capabilities, the rapid construction of datacentres has faced opposition from campaign groups in various locations across the UK. Concerns about datacentre expansion have been reported, with some AI companies reportedly warning ministers about potential public protests.