National Grid agreed last week to purchase 73 acres of land at Dorman Point, on a site owned by Teesworks, the local public and private partnership, in a step towards building Britain’s biggest electricity substation on Teesside, the Guardian reported. The substation could supply power to a neighbouring datacentre, for which planning applications covering nearly 500,000 square metres were reported last year, and Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen told Sky News the site could offer up to 3.2 gigawatts of capacity. Balfour Beatty was reported to be in line to deliver the substation for National Grid, with Steel River Power also heavily involved, and neither company commented in the report.
National Grid buys Teesside land for Britain's biggest substation
National Grid agreed last week to buy 73 acres at Dorman Point on the Teesworks site on Teesside for what would be Britain's biggest electricity substation, which could supply a planned AI datacentre of nearly 500,000 square metres.
Why it matters: Power connection speed is the constraint most often cited on UK datacentre projects, and a substation sized for up to 3.2 gigawatts at one site would put Teesside ahead of other British locations competing for the same investment.
Data as of Guardian report of November 1, 2026, read in full in this run via the live browser; the land deal was first reported by Sky News and no project cost or jobs figure was reported, so the item ships at grade C as a developing item. The 3.2 gigawatt figure is Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen's, cited to Sky News.
Sources
- National Grid to site biggest substation on Teesside, near planned AI datacentre - The Guardian, reporting a deal first reported by Sky News - 2026-11-01