# UK’s most polluting power plant could power country’s largest AI datacentre

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/uks-most-polluting-power-plant-could-power-countrys-largest-ai-datacentre/
- Published: 2026-11-03T11:55:28+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-03T12:52:47+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/nov/03/uk-drax-power-station-ai-datacentre
- Topics: AI, Business, Elections, Markets, Politics, Software, Technology, UK, World

## Key points

- Drax plans a £20bn AI datacentre at its North Yorkshire site.
- The first phase could operate from early 2028.
- Grid constraints and climate targets complicate future power supply.

## Summary

Drax has agreed to work with Brookfield and Radiant on a £20bn plan to build a large AI datacentre at its North Yorkshire power station. The project could give the site a new role as ministers plan to reduce its importance in electricity generation, while supporting jobs and the UK’s AI infrastructure.

The first phase could open in early 2028 with up to 100MW of computing capacity; eventual capacity is planned to exceed 1GW. Drax would initially provide land and grid access, and hopes to supply power directly by the early 2030s. The plant burns biomass and is identified by analysts as the UK’s largest CO₂ emitter, though those emissions are excluded from government accounting; the deal also comes amid reduced subsidies and questions about how datacentres can be powered within climate targets.

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