Northumberland may be set to get a new hyperscale data centre, after the collapse of plans for a huge battery plant.
Britishvolt had been planning a £3.8 billion EV battery factory on the 95-hectare Northumberland Energy Park (NEP3) site in Cambois, near Blyth, creating up to 3,000 jobs.
However, the company fell into administration in January last year after failing to raise enough funds, despite the promise of £100 million in government subsidy. Australian firm Recharge Industries then took over.
Now, Northumberland County Council says it's considering plans to build a Hyperscale Datacentre Campus. Funds will be managed by global asset management firm Blackstone, which has now acquired the site for £110 million.
"Driving growth and jobs is a key priority for this Council. Next week, Cabinet will consider this really unique opportunity for Northumberland, which offers a huge boost to the regeneration and renaissance of the local area," says council leader Glen Sanderson.
"If agreed, the council would receive up to £110 million in exchange for amending the buy-back option on the NEP3 land site, and use the proceeds to establish a fund which will drive investment, including in the economic corridor along our fantastic, new Northumberland Line."
There's currently no detail on the data centre proposals, but the site, once home to Blyth Power Station, has been cleared and has good transport links and access to renewable energy.
The council says the project would represent an inward investment of up to £10 billion, bringing more than 1,600 direct jobs to the region, including 1,200 long-term construction jobs, as well as more than 2,700 indirect jobs over the course of the development.
The council’s cabinet will consider the plans at a meeting on 23 April.
The UK currently has around 800 data centers in total, between them generating around £4.6 billion in revenue in 2021 and in 2022 and contributing 6.9% to GDP.
However, suitable sites are hard to come by, with planning applications frequently turned down. Industry group TechUK has called for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to work with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to make sure that the National Planning Policy Framework addresses the need for ongoing investment in the sector.
Most of the UK's data centres are located in London and the south east. However, in a report last year, real estate investment firm CBRE claimed that the north east of England was a viable alternative.
"The lower cost base compared with London and substantial reserves of available renewable power, positions the North as a potential alternative to the power constrained and relatively high-cost London region, where wholesale capacity has traditionally been based," commented Keith Breed, CBRE senior research analyst, data centres.
One recent endorsement for the region recently came from Microsoft, which is planning a new data center on the site of a decommissioned nuclear power station in Eggborough in Yorkshire.
