National Grid agrees to buy land for substation on Teesside — The Guardian

National Grid has agreed to buy 73 acres of land at Dorman Point on Teesside in the United Kingdom. The deal is a step toward building the country’s largest electricity substation, which could potentially supply power to a large planned data centre nearby, The Guardian reports . The plot is located on land owned by Teesworks, a local public-private partnership.

The agreement to purchase the land became known last week. Data centre plans Reports emerged last year that the UK government had selected Teesworks as the site for a new artificial intelligence data centre. Applications have already been submitted for permission to build a complex covering nearly 500,000 square metres.

National Grid’s head of land, Matt Pearce, said the agreement resulted from cooperation between the parties to develop important infrastructure. According to him, the project is intended to support the development of artificial intelligence technologies and the digital sector, as well as the next stage of the region’s industrial and economic development.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram . Electricity capacity Tees Valley Combined Authority Mayor Ben Houchen told Sky News that the main issue for data centre developers is quickly connecting sufficient electricity capacity. According to him, access to up to 3.2 GW of capacity would allow the region to compete for investment with the United States, Gulf countries and parts of Europe.

Last week, the UK government published a draft national policy on data centres, describing them as being as important to the economy as railways and electricity grids. At the same time, the rapid construction of such facilities has already triggered protests by community groups in different parts of the country.

According to the publication, infrastructure group Balfour Beatty may secure work to build the substation for National Grid, while Steel River Power is actively involved in the project.