# Drax plans £20bn North Yorkshire data centre with Brookfield

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/drax-wants-to-feed-britains-ai-habit-with-20b-datacenter-at-biomass-power-station/
- Published: 2026-11-03T13:27:33+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-03T13:48:11+00:00
- Original publisher: The Register
- Original article: https://www.theregister.com/on-prem/2026/11/03/drax-wants-to-feed-britains-ai-habit-with-20b-datacenter-at-biomass-power-station/5307237
- Topics: AI, Government, Politics, Technology, UK, World

## Key points

- Drax proposes a data centre that could eventually use over 1GW.
- The first phase targets up to 100MW by early 2028.
- Planning, approvals, investment and a tenant are still needed.

## Summary

Drax has announced plans with Brookfield and its UK AI infrastructure business Radiant for a £20 billion data centre at its biomass power station in North Yorkshire. If built at the scale proposed, the facility could use more than a gigawatt of electricity, making it a major addition to Britain’s data centre capacity and raising questions about power supply and local impacts.

The project would begin with up to 100MW by early 2028, backed by a proposed £2.5 billion investment, then potentially add 500MW between 2028 and 2031 and expand further. Drax says its site has 4GW of grid access, existing generation and cooling infrastructure, and could supply up to 500MW directly, but the plans still need permissions, approvals, funding decisions and a customer. Redirecting generation under Drax’s government-backed biomass contract also requires approval; the companies promise a community benefits fund and say consultation will start this month.

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.