Land sold for UK's 'largest electricity substation'

More than 70 acres of land has been sold to the National Grid to create what is expected to be the largest electricity substation in the UK.

The land, spanning 73.3 acres by the side of the River Tees near Middlesbrough, will be used to create a site with an initial electrical capacity of 1.44GW - enough to power a million homes simultaneously or the amount created by a nuclear reactor - with scope to expand to 3.2GW in the future.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said the substation could be used to power large-scale industrial or manufacturing projects, as well as AI data centres.

He said the substation would mean the region "can finally compete for those projects".

Electrical substations serve as the connector between power stations and businesses and homes themselves.

He said: "Everyone who's tried to build a data centre or large-scale advanced manufacturing, technological or energy-intensive industrial developments in this country knows the biggest problem is getting enough power to the site quickly.

"If Britain is serious about having its own AI capability and other advanced manufacturing technologies, with sensitive data stored safely on British soil, it needs somewhere to physically put it.

"I'd much rather that was Teesside than Texas or Abu Dhabi."

National Grid's Matt Pearce said the sale was an "important step" in what the body has called The Great Grid Upgrade, "the largest upgrade of the electricity grid in generations".

"[It will] support the growth of AI and digital technologies, and enable the region's next phase of industrial and economic development," he said.

The substation's initial capacity is scheduled to come into force by the end of 2029.

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