Energy and Power 2026 | Summary + gallery

The utility giant has selected the country estate in the North Yorkshire village to deliver its off-site BNG for the infrastructure project, purchasing around 300 biodiversity units to support a nature recovery initiative.

Announced at The Great North Summit in Leeds, the funding will be spread across the next 10 years and will support investment in areas crucial to regional growth, such as energy, transport, infrastructure, regeneration, and housing.

Funding of up to £30m is being lined up to accelerate clean energy innovation and industrial resilience across the regions, as part of the government’s wider £86bn R&D settlement through to 2030.

The energy firm has set out proposals for the first phase of a UK-wide hydrogen transmission network, outlining plans to develop more than 300 miles of pipeline connecting key industrial regions Teesside, Yorkshire, and the East Midlands. 

This panel session hosted by Place North explored how from offshore wind farms and tidal power to advanced manufacturing and AI infrastructure, the North of England is positioning itself as one of the UK’s most important energy and technology powerhouses. 

Mayors, city leaders, and Combined Authority officials from across the Midlands, the North of England, and Scotland used a roundtable hosted by Place North to argue that the UK’s next wave of growth will be driven by regional cities, highlighting opportunities in AI, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and housing, while calling for deeper devolution and stronger infrastructure investment.

The former coal-fired power station is developing an application for a 100MW data centre, which could be operational by 2027.

The Mayor of York and North Yorkshire has facilitated discussions with the region’s power company in an effort to support local developments and promote job creation.

York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority and Tees Valley Combined Authority have formed a new partnership with the University of York and Teesside University to support the creation of a bio-industrial cluster focused on green energy.