Vital Energi joins new energy business park and data center project in Yorkshire

Vital Energi, a UK renewable energy firm, is the latest investor to join the £200 million ($274.4m) energy park development in East Riding, Yorkshire, UK. The park will span a 212-acres and feature energy generation, battery storage, substation office and startup space, education center. A Tier III, 600 rack colocation facility is also planned for development too. Asanti Datacentres Limited are also part of the development project.

According to reports, the project has the vision to become the first zero-carbon business park in the UK. That’s where Vital Energi comes in. As well as being an investor, it will also drive vision this forward through leading the project’s energy strategy.

Commenting on Vita Energi joining the project, Chris Turner, chairman of Yorkshire Energy Park, said: “The Board is delighted to welcome both Vital Energi and Andrew Reynolds to the Yorkshire Energy Park project as we reach a crucial part of the project, with works due to start on site in the new year. Vital is a leader in modern energy solutions that support the decarbonisation ambitions of the UK. I’m looking forward to seeing their team apply this expertise to the Yorkshire Energy Park.”

Adding: “Having spent a decade as development director at Hines, along with several other senior roles across the UK, Andrew also brings a wealth of experience to the project bolstering our existing team.”

Gary Fielding, chairman of Vital Energi, said: “We’re proud to become the energy partner for Yorkshire Energy Park and play our part in the design and delivery of a scheme which will provide great benefits to the tenants and to the local and regional economy.” 

“The Park’s vision is truly impressive, and we are excited to deliver long-term resilient energy and multi-utility infrastructure that supports this vision. We’re looking forward to seeing the development take shape over the coming months.”

Meanwhile, Stewart Laing, Founder and Managing Director of Asanti Datacentres Limited, said the company is "already talking to investors".

Outlining what the data center company will bring to the project, he said: “We will develop local expertise and provide a world class data centre facility within the Yorkshire Energy Park, partnering with other local companies to provide additional services to their customers, such as hosting applications and bringing The Cloud, which is used for sharing and storing data on a huge scale, to more of a local level.”

Construction on the Tier III facility is expected to commence in 2022.