Drax and Brookfield unveil £20bn data centre plan at North Yorkshire power station

A £20bn data centre campus is planned for the Drax Power Station estate in North Yorkshire, with the first 100MW phase due online in early 2028. Energy giant Drax has partnered with investment group Brookfield and its UK-based AI infrastructure business, Radiant, to deliver one of Britain's largest data centre campuses, targeting more than 1GW of capacity overall.

Brookfield estimates total investment could exceed £20bn if the scheme is built in full. The numbers start with an initial £2.5bn for phase one, delivering up to 100MW of data centre capacity by the first quarter of 2028. Capacity would then ramp up to 500MW between 2028 and 2031, with further expansion planned beyond 2031.

Why build a data centre at a power station?

The site itself is the pitch. Drax's existing 1,000-acre power station estate already has a 4GW grid connection, 2.6GW of active electricity generation capacity and established cooling infrastructure.

Those assets could help the developers clear the biggest obstacles facing major UK data centre projects: grid connections and access to reliable power. Where most new campuses queue for years to secure power, Drax already has it on site.

Radiant will lead the design, construction and operation of the AI computing infrastructure, backed by investment from the Brookfield-Qai joint venture.

Drax Group chief executive Will Gardiner framed the scheme as more than a building project. He said: "If constructed in full, this project could become one of the largest data centres in the UK, attracting billions in inward investment, supporting the North's reindustrialisation and strengthening sovereign AI capability."

Brookfield's head of AI infrastructure, Sikander Rashid, pointed to the pace his firm can bring. He said: "Our capital and deep operating capabilities will help accelerate the construction of a critical piece of sovereign AI, delivered by Radiant, our UK-headquartered compute infrastructure platform."

What happens next?

The formal planning process is expected to begin in the coming months. The first phase still hinges on planning consent, regulatory and network approvals, and securing a tenant.

That last condition matters. No tenant has been named yet, and a £2.5bn first phase won't break ground until one signs on. If the approvals and leasing fall into place, the partners' early-2028 target would put Drax among the first wave of gigawatt-scale AI campuses operating in the UK.