National Grid's Plans to Power Data Centres Sustainably

National Grid has announced plans to work on a new substation to power data centres.

The development of the Uxbridge Moor substation in Buckinghamshire is designed to integrate more than a dozen data centres into its network, part of National Grid’s ongoing efforts to modernise its transmission framework amidst escalating electricity demands.

This is to ensure it can continue to support the growth of new sectors like data centres and the economic and employment benefits they can offer.

“Our new Uxbridge Moor substation will provide vital access to power for data centres that are at the heart of Britain’s innovation and economic growth,” says Laura Mulcahy, Project Director at National Grid Electricity Transmission. 

“It will enable new jobs and investment in Buckinghamshire, and will support the UK's digital future.”

Building new capacity to meet data centre demand

The new site will feature two substations — one 400kV and one 132kV — which will be enclosed in indoor gas-insulated facilities (GIS).

This design choice reduces the development's physical footprint by about 70%, significantly minimising its environmental impact.

National Grid says that the Uxbridge Moor substation is among the first in the nation to operate without sulphur hexafluoride (SF6), a conventional but environmentally detrimental insulating gas.

Using an alternative gas means the project will mark a critical key step towards National Grid’s goal of reducing SF6 emissions from its network by 50% by 2030.

Laura adds: “Alongside these significant benefits, we are working to keep the substations’ environmental impact to a minimum. By using the latest SF6-free gas-insulated switchgear, we’re reducing the size of this crucial site by around 70%, and ensuring its technology is sustainable and resilient long into the future.”

Principal contractor Murphy will build the Uxbridge Moor substation and deliver underground cabling and the associated work to connect the 400kV substation to the nearby overhead transmission line.

Harnessing the grid sustainably 

The news comes soon after the Heathrow Airport outage, which was caused by a substation fire in West London.

This inevitably led to questions over the UKs national infrastructure and if its grid is resilient enough to handle more data centres – especially given the fact that the country is currently pushing for development.

Data centres are pivotal to the digital economy, fostering the creation of skilled jobs across the UK while delivering the essential infrastructure needed for ongoing technological advancement.

The Uxbridge Moor substation, adjacent to National Grid’s fully utilised Iver 400kV substation, addresses capacity constraints and facilitates new data centre connections.

“Upgrades to the electricity network like this are at the heart of building the industries of our future and support our Plan for Change to deliver economic growth and skilled jobs across the UK,” explains Energy Minister Michael Shanks.

“It comes as we progress our reforms to the grid connections queue that will speed up the time it takes to get high-growth firms, like data centres and AI hubs, plugged into the grid – while also fast-tracking projects that will scale up clean, homegrown power by 2030.”

Requests from data centres to connect to the Uxbridge Moor substation will require around 1.8GW of new capacity – equivalent to adding a mid-sized city to the grid on the outskirts of London. 

When built, it will be the largest new substation on National Grid’s network by gigawatt capacity.

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