Drax, Brookfield and Radiant plan a data centre of over 1 GW at Drax power station; investment could exceed £20bn

Drax Group, which operates Britain’s largest power station, has signed an agreement with investment firm Brookfield and Radiant, its UK-headquartered artificial intelligence infrastructure platform, to jointly develop a data centre at Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire. Funding would come through the Brookfield–Qai joint venture; Qai is a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority, according to The Next Web.

The figures. Brookfield estimates that total investment, including chips, could exceed £20bn, of which £2.5bn in the first phase. That phase targets up to 100 MW of capacity, operating from the first quarter of 2028 and supplied from the national grid. A second phase would add 500 MW between 2028 and 2031, and a third would follow after 2031. The power station estate covers about 1,000 acres, with 4 GW of grid access and 2.6 GW of dispatchable generation capacity, according to Drax.

What the company says. Chief executive Will Gardiner said the project can “help secure the long-term future of the site” and protect “hundreds of jobs”. According to The Guardian, the company’s market value rose by almost 9% to almost £3bn.

Context. The plant burns wood pellets and produces almost 5% of the country’s electricity; analysts consider it the UK’s single largest emitter of carbon dioxide, The Guardian writes. The government has said Drax will play a “much more limited role” and will receive only half of its current subsidies in 2027–2031. Supplying the data centre directly from the plant in the second phase requires government consent, The Next Web notes.

What comes next. The first phase depends on planning permission, regulatory and network approvals and finding a tenant. A public consultation is due to start shortly, with the planning process to follow in the coming months, according to Drax and Construction Enquirer.

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