Drax Unveils 20 Billion AI Data Centre Plans at UK Biomass Plant

OilPrice.com · City A.M · 2026-11-03 17:00 UTC

Drax has partnered with Brookfield and Radiant to develop a potentially 20 billion-plus AI data centre project at its North Yorkshire biomass power plant, targeting more than 1GW of capacity.

Energy company Drax has unveiled plans to build a new data centre at the site of its North Yorkshire power plant, which uses wood as fuel.

The FTSE 250 firm’s biomass plant is predominantly powered by wood pellets, but also uses straw and sunflower pellets. The company said it intends to use surplus energy capacity at the plant to power the new facility, in a new partnership with AI infrastructure business Radiant.

Drax said it hoped the total capacity of the data centre would exceed one gigawatt, with the first phase to deliver up to 100 megawatts by 2028 and the second phase to add an extra 500 megawatts by 2031. The potential investment, including semiconductor chips, could exceed £20bn, with an initial £2.5bn as part of the first phase of development.

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