Nationwide Grid begins constructing large-scale substation to assist development of West London datacentres

The Nationwide Grid has confirmed that it’s within the technique of constructing its largest new electrical substation in response to the rising demand for datacentres in West London.

The ability might be sited simply outdoors of Better London in Buckinghamshire and can, in accordance with the Nationwide Grid, allow a dozen new datacentres to be related to its electrical energy transmission community.

“The brand new web site varieties a part of Nationwide Grid’s improve to its transmission community to satisfy rising demand for electrical energy, making certain it could possibly proceed to assist the expansion of latest sectors, reminiscent of datacentres, and the financial and employment advantages they will deliver,” the Nationwide Grid stated in an announcement. 

Dubbed Uxbridge Moor, the substation is being constructed subsequent door to a different 400kV substation in Iver, Buckinghamshire, that’s at full capability and can’t be expanded additional. Will probably be comprised of two substations, together with one 400kV facility and one other with 132kV of capability.

“The requests from datacentres to attach at Uxbridge Moor would require round 1.8GW of latest capability, equal to including a mid-sized metropolis to the grid on the outskirts of London,” stated the Nationwide Grid. “When constructed, will probably be the most important new substation on Nationwide Grid’s community by gigawatt capability.”

The work is a part of a deliberate five-year funding push, valued at £35bn, by the Nationwide Grid that’s geared in the direction of growing the UK’s electrical energy era capability and making it simpler for datacentres and gigafactories to hook up with the grid.

The a part of the nation the place the substation might be constructed has seen a inflow of datacentres over the course of the previous decade, prompting issues about whether or not there may be ample provide and grid capability to service all of them.

This matter got here to a head in 2022 when a briefing observe from the Better London Authority’s Growth Service started to flow into that claimed an inflow of datacentres meant the electrical energy and transmission networks in West London have been struggling to deal with the demand being positioned on them.

Vitality minister Michael Shanks stated that tasks reminiscent of this are important to the federal government’s capacity to ship on initiatives, reminiscent of its push to decrease the boundaries to datacentre developments within the UK.

“Upgrades to the electrical energy community like this are on the coronary heart of constructing the industries of our future and assist our Plan for Change to ship financial development and expert jobs throughout the UK,” stated Shanks.

“It comes as we progress our reforms to the grid connections queue that may pace up the time it takes to get high-growth corporations, like datacentres and AI hubs, plugged into the grid – whereas additionally fast-tracking tasks that may scale up clear, homegrown energy by 2030.”

Laura Mulcahy, challenge director at Nationwide Grid Electrical energy Transmission, stated the substation’s creation will generate a variety of financial advantages. 

“Our new Uxbridge Moor substation will present very important entry to energy for datacentres which can be on the coronary heart of Britain’s innovation and financial development,” she stated. “It should allow new jobs and funding in Buckinghamshire, and can assist the UK’s digital future.”