The 73-acre Dorman Point site sits next to a planned AI datacentre as Britain chases more computing capacity
National Grid has bought land on Teesside for what could become Britain’s biggest electricity substation. The site sits beside a planned AI datacentre that will need an enormous amount of power.
The deal covers 73 acres at Dorman Point, on land owned by Teesworks, a local private-public partnership. Sky News first reported the purchase.
What National Grid is actually building
National Grid Electricity Transmission finalized the purchase of approximately 29.5 hectares (73 acres). The project is expected to add more than 1 gigawatt (GW) of new electrical capacity.
Local stakeholders have pointed to even bigger numbers. Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen is among those who have said the site could ultimately accommodate up to 3.2 GW.
The substation falls under National Grid’s “Great Grid Upgrade,” its broad program to expand and modernize the transmission network. It is designed to feed an emerging private-wire network serving the nearby AI datacentre and a battery energy storage system.
The paperwork and the timeline
An outline planning application went to the local authority in September 2026. The land agreement itself was reached in late October 2026. Community consultation is expected to close by November 11, 2026.
Why Teesside, and why now
Teesworks is billed as Europe’s largest brownfield site, covering 2,500 acres. About 10% of Teesworks is publicly owned by the South Tees Development Corporation. The rest sits within the private-public partnership structure that controls the wider site.
In 2025, the UK government identified Teesworks as a prime candidate for a substantial AI datacentre complex. Earlier applications described a campus of nearly 500,000 square meters, roughly 5.5 million square feet.
The prospect has already attracted interest from major construction and energy names. They include Balfour Beatty and Steel River Power, a joint venture associated with Iberdrola.
What this means for the UK’s AI ambitions
The battery storage element deserves attention. Storage lets a site soak up power when it is cheap or abundant and release it when demand spikes.
Watch three things next. The first is the result of the consultation closing November 11, 2026. The second is the planning authority’s response to the outline application. The third is whether a confirmed datacentre operator commits to the Teesworks site, turning a promising power connection into an actual customer.
