Event: Sembcorp

Sembcorp employees stand on a patch of disused land earmarked as a future site for a data center on the Wilton International site near Middlesbrough, England, on March 27. The utilities company has been serving petrochemical customers for decades but the decline of the industry has now left it with spare land — and power. | REUTERS WILTON, England – Land left dormant by the decline of the chemical industry in northeastern England has taken on a new luster. Blessed with power plants, water and a grid connection, the site has just what it takes to house a state-of-the-art AI data center campus.That's what the owners of the Wilton International site in Teesside hope at least, but they are not alone.Across the U.K., owners of industrial sites, speculative investors, property developers and even farmers are burnishing the credentials of their land to cash in on the billions of dollars technology giants plan to spend on AI data centers. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing, you can help us get the story right. SUBSCRIBE NOW