The Newshound

Qatari-backed £20bn AI data centre at Drax power station in North Yorkshire could become one of Britain's largest

Drax shares jumped 8.5% to 877p on Tuesday, making the power company the biggest riser on the FTSE 250 after the £20bn data centre deal was announced.
Drax shares jumped 8.5% to 877p on Tuesday, making the power company the biggest riser on the FTSE 250 after the £20bn data centre deal was announced.

Drax Power Station near Selby is set to host a gigawatt-scale AI data centre backed by an initial £2.5bn from Brookfield through its joint venture with Qatar's Qai, with total investment potentially exceeding £20bn. The first phase targets 100MW of capacity operational by early 2028, expanding to 500MW by 2031, subject to planning and regulatory approvals. Drax shares jumped 9 per cent on the announcement.

Environmentalists warn the project's power demands will make meeting Britain's clean energy targets "impossible."

Drax's 1,000-acre site and its 4-gigawatt grid connection place it among the very few UK locations capable of delivering electricity at this scale straight to data centre customers.

The deal aligns with the government's Data Centre Covenant, which fast-tracks planning and grid connections for strategically important AI projects.

Morelse.co.ukDrax and Brookfield agree GBP20 billion AI data centre investment dealYahoo News UKDrax data centre could be among UK's biggesttheglobeandmail.comBrookfield partners with British power firm Drax on $27-billion AI data centre in U.K.yorkpress.co.uk£20billion Drax data centre plan could create one of the UKhellorayo.co.ukDrax and Brookfield announce potential £20bn investment for North Yorkshire data centresky.comPlans announced for AI data centre at Drax site in North Yorkshire - Sky NewsBBC News - EnglandDrax data centre could be among biggest in UK, CEO saysGB NewsYorkshire power station could host one of Britain's largest data centres in deal worth billionspropertyweek.comDrax and Brookfield team up for £20bn North Yorkshire data centre investment
Read today's full feed at The Newshound →