National Grid has started work to upgrade its Didcot substation in Oxfordshire, UK, a key infrastructure development that will connect data centres and battery energy storage systems to the electricity transmission network.

Situated next to the former Didcot A coal power station and just two miles from the UK’s first AI Growth Zone at Culham, the upgraded substation will support the UK’s digital ambitions while boosting grid capacity for future projects to plug in.

Alongside new data centres, 650MW of battery schemes will connect through the extended facility, completing a transition from ‘coal to clean’ at the site and helping to meet growing demand for flexible, zero carbon power in the region.

The upgrade will see the existing 400kV outdoor air-insulated substation extended with three bays and three supergrid transformers, while a new 132kV indoor gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) facility will be built next door – minimising the footprint of the development and its impact on the environment.

The new GIS facility will feature Hitachi Energy’s EconiQ switchgear technology, a sustainable alternative to sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) – a greenhouse gas commonly used as an electrical insulator – marking another step in National Grid’s commitment to reduce SF6 emissions from its network by 50% by 2030.

Linxon has been appointed as principal contractor to deliver the substation upgrades, building on its successful collaboration with National Grid on projects such as London Power Tunnels, which will see the UK’s first SF6-free GIS substation at Bengeworth Road.

Work at Didcot comes just months after construction commenced on National Grid’s new Uxbridge Moor substation in neighbouring Buckinghamshire, which is due to connect over a dozen new data centres and which will also use SF6-free switchgear.

Electricity demand in Britain is expected to double by 2050, with demand from data centres alone set to triple from 3% of the country’s total in 2025 to 9% by 2035.

For more information visit EICDataStream https://eicdatastream.the-eic.com/search/project/724148/Didcot-Green-Hydrogen-Project

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