It was only last November that CX Power was appointed by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) as Strategic Development Partner to support the delivery of CX Technology Campus at Chapelcross.
So much has happened since then in both the UK and Scotland – from a changing of Prime Minister to a Holyrood election. And also a significant rise in interest and change in attitudes to AI data centres.
Regarding the latter, it is perhaps worth revisiting the vision that emerged nine months ago for Chapelcross, a site that for generations has played a significant role in the economy and identity of Dumfries and Galloway.
That identity stems from its beginnings as a wartime airfield to becoming Scotland’s first commercial nuclear power station, a site built around nationally important infrastructure that supported hundreds of skilled jobs and generated economic activity across the region.
The NDA’s appointment of CX Power was a significant milestone in fulfilling an ambition to regenerate Chapelcross, which had been developing over many years.
That vision took the form of a masterplan which envisaged the site becoming a major regional employment location centred around renewable energy and net-zero industries, with opportunities including advanced manufacturing, skills and training, and AI digital infrastructure.
CX Technology Campus forms a major part of that emerging ecosystem. Its proposals focus on approximately 55 hectares of land to the north of the former nuclear power station, creating a campus capable of supporting the rapidly growing requirements of artificial intelligence, advanced computing and cloud infrastructure.
The plans include up to 161,920 sqm of AI-enabled data centres alongside energy infrastructure, industrial and innovation space, and dedicated education, training and skills facilities.
Key to this opportunity is taking infrastructure created for one nationally important purpose and reimagine it for another.
Partnership making things possible
Transformation on this scale cannot happen through one organisation alone.
The wider Chapelcross programme brings together the NDA, Nuclear Restoration Services, Dumfries and Galloway Council, South of Scotland Enterprise and the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal.
Added to this comes CX Power, which is bringing private-sector development expertise and investment capability to that partnership, helping move the vision from masterplan towards delivery.
As NDA Group CEO David Peattie said when announcing the partnership, CX Power’s involvement represents an important step in “unlocking the combined potential of the public and private sector”.
That combination is crucial. Public-sector partners have helped establish a long-term vision for Chapelcross and create the conditions for investment. The next stage is about translating that opportunity into deliverable projects capable of attracting significant private capital.
The importance of Borderlands
The Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal plays an important role in that journey.
Backed by the UK and Scottish Governments alongside local partners, the wider Borderlands Deal represents investment in projects designed to deliver inclusive and sustainable economic growth across the South of Scotland and North of England.
At Chapelcross, up to £15.3m of UK and Scottish Government investment has been identified through Borderlands to support enabling infrastructure, including improvements to access and utilities.
That infrastructure can help unlock something considerably bigger. By improving the conditions for private investment, the Borderlands programme can support Chapelcross in becoming a catalyst for new industries, businesses and employment across Dumfries and Galloway.
Building a new economy
CX Technology Campus is designed around two defining economic challenges: the extraordinary growth in demand for AI and digital infrastructure, and the transition towards a resilient, lower-carbon energy system.
The campus offers a rare opportunity to bring those requirements together. The site has an established industrial and energy heritage, strategic grid infrastructure and access to significant renewable generation across the surrounding region.
Our ambition is to develop a technology campus capable of delivering up to 1GW of infrastructure, supported by a diverse mix of renewable and low-carbon energy.
But the opportunity is about more than megawatts and data centres. It is about what that investment can enable.
For Dumfries and Galloway, that means the potential for skilled employment, apprenticeships and new skills pathways. It means opportunities for local contractors and supply chains. It means encouraging young people to build careers in technology, engineering and energy in the South of Scotland.
And it means positioning the region to participate directly in industries that will shape the UK economy for decades to come.
A national asset reimagined
Not all developments start from the same place.
Chapelcross was designed to accommodate nationally significant infrastructure and sustained industrial activity. Rather than leaving that legacy behind, there is a new opportunity to build upon it.
CX Technology Campus is part of a much wider ambition to give Chapelcross a new economic purpose, combining its energy heritage with the infrastructure requirements of the AI economy.
Chapelcross powered the nation once before. Now there is the opportunity to ensure it plays an equally important role in what comes next.