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Blackstone’s £10 Billion Data Centre Project in North East England Approved

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Blackstone, a prominent U.S. private equity firm, has received planning approval for its ambitious $13 billion “hyperscale” data centre project in North East England. The Northumberland County Council granted unanimous approval for the facility on Tuesday, with plans for the site in Blyth, Northumberland to span approximately 540,000 square metres.

The investment, which could reach up to £10 billion, will involve a large-scale data centre campus designed to meet the growing demand for data storage and cloud computing services. These “hyperscale” data centres are integral to supporting businesses, especially with the increased reliance on technologies like artificial intelligence.

The project is set to create substantial employment opportunities, with 1,200 long-term construction jobs and hundreds of positions for the operation of the centres. Additionally, up to 2,700 indirect jobs could be supported by the project. As part of the agreement, Blackstone will also contribute to a £110 million fund aimed at fostering economic growth and job creation in the region, particularly along the newly opened “Northumberland Line” railway.

This development follows the collapse of a previous plan for the site, which was originally designated for Britishvolt’s electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant before its closure last year. Blackstone’s initiative reflects the increasing demand for data centre capacity, driven by the surge in artificial intelligence and cloud computing, despite challenges in meeting this demand, according to recent research by CBRE Group.

SingTel Secures $476 Million Green Loan for Data Centre Development

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Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) announced that it has secured a green loan worth S$643 million ($476.16 million) to fund the development of a new 58-megawatt (MW) data centre in Singapore. The loan, which spans five years, has been provided by a consortium of lenders, including DBS Group, OCBC, Standard Chartered, HSBC, and United Overseas Bank.

Green loans are specifically designated to finance projects that support environmental sustainability, reflecting the increasing focus on aligning data centre growth with climate goals, especially as industries like artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing drive rising demand for such facilities. SingTel’s new data centre, located in Tuas, is expected to be operational by 2026 and will feature a high-density environment ideal for handling the growing AI workloads.

Arthur Lang, SingTel’s group chief financial officer, emphasized that this green loan would help the company contribute to Singapore’s digital economy while aligning with its long-term net-zero objectives. SingTel had previously secured a S$535 million green loan in December 2023 to refinance debt and fund the development of two other data centres in Singapore.

 

Digital Edge Raises Over $1.6 Billion to Fuel Expansion Across Asia

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Singapore-based data centre company Digital Edge announced on Monday that it had successfully raised over $1.6 billion in new capital through a mix of equity and debt financing. This funding is intended to drive the company’s growth as it expands to meet the surging demand for cloud and artificial intelligence services across Asia.

The capital raised includes approximately $640 million in equity investment from both existing and new investors, as well as $1 billion in debt financing. Digital Edge is a portfolio company of Stonepeak, a New York-based investment firm with a focus on infrastructure and real assets.

Since its establishment in 2020, Digital Edge has rapidly expanded its footprint, currently operating 21 data centres with more than 500 megawatts of capacity in service or under construction. The company is also developing an additional 300 megawatts of capacity for future use across multiple Asian countries, including Japan, Korea, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.