Drax plans a £20bn AI data center campus at its North Yorkshire power station

The partners announced the deal on Nov. 3. Money comes from Brookfield's AI infrastructure joint venture with Qai, a technology company based in Qatar, according to Drax. The plan has three phases: up to 100 MW running from the first quarter of 2028, a ramp to 500 MW between 2028 and 2031, and more capacity after 2031.

The draw is the site. The 1,000-acre estate near Selby already has 4 GW of grid access, 2.6 GW of dispatchable generation in service and its own cooling systems, and it sits close to the UK fiber network, Drax said. Construction Enquirer reported that those assets could help the partners get around grid connections and power supply, the problems that hold up many large UK data center schemes.

Radiant will design, build and run the AI computing infrastructure, Construction Enquirer reported. No main contractor has been named. The first phase still needs planning permission, sign-off from regulators, network approvals from the government and the system operator, and a tenant, according to Drax.

A community consultation is due to start shortly, and Drax expects to begin the formal planning process in the coming months. The partners also plan a voluntary community benefits fund on top of any planning obligations. Drax chief executive Will Gardiner said that if built in full, the campus could rank among the largest data centers in the UK.