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

New electricity generating capacity would enable north-east to attract investment for large-scale AI infrastructure

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 29.5 hectares (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.

The deal followed reports last year that the UK government had picked Teesworks as the site for a new artificial intelligence datacentre, and planning applications had been submitted for a project that would span nearly 500,000 sq metres.