Drax and Brookfield Plan 1 GW AI Data Centre at Yorkshire Power Station in the UK

An agreement signed by Drax with Brookfield and Radiant, Brookfield's UK-headquartered AI infrastructure platform, sets out plans to jointly develop, deliver and operate an AI data center on the Drax Power Station estate in northern England.

Power-dense site chosen for compute build-out

The partnership was announced on 3 November 2026 and pairs Radiant's AI infrastructure expertise with Drax's powered land and generation capabilities, while investment capital and operating capabilities come through a Brookfield-Qai AI infrastructure joint venture first announced in 2025. The facility is targeted at more than 1 GW of capacity, which Drax says would rank among the largest data centers in the UK if built in full.

Brookfield estimates total potential investment, including semiconductor chips, could surpass USD 26.83 billion, with USD 3.35 billion allocated to Phase 1. At the heart of the site's appeal is its electrical endowment: Drax Power Station holds 4 GW of grid access and 2.6 GW of dispatchable generation capacity. In November 2025, Drax signed a Contract-for-Difference with the UK Government covering approximately 6 TWh of biomass generation annually between April 2027 and March 2031, roughly 30% of total annual baseload output from its 2.6 GW of active generation.

How the three phases stack up

Phase 1 targets up to 100 MW of compute capacity, operational from the first quarter of 2028, and powered directly from the grid. Phase 2 is an ambition to add a further 500MW between 2028 and 2031, and Phase 3 aims to deliver additional capacity beyond 2031. Even at the Phase 1 scale, the facility would be among the largest current data centres in the UK. Roles are clearly divided. Radiant will lead design, customer engagement, and commercialization, aiming to secure anchor customer commitments before construction begins.

Drax will handle land, power integration, and planning, with power management under its control as the site imports power directly from the grid using existing infrastructure. A planning application for Phase 1 is in preparation, with public consultation expected to begin in November 2026. Progression depends on planning approvals, regulatory and network approvals from the government and relevant agencies, securing an acceptable tenant, negotiating commercial agreements, and final investment decisions by each party. The partners also intend to establish a voluntary community benefits fund, shaped in consultation with communities near the site, in addition to planning obligations and Drax's existing community initiatives.

Behind-the-meter supply planned for expansion

Phase 2 is intended to develop options for 500 MW of capacity between 2028 and 2031, expected to use the power station's existing generation to provide a distributed energy and management solution behind the meter, with around-the-clock power supplied directly to the data center under a long-term PPA, subject to necessary consents.

Executives frame the project around jobs and sovereign AI

Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner said the company was proud to partner with leading AI infrastructure providers on a project that "can help secure the long-term future of the site and protect hundreds of jobs, maintain a critical source of this country's energy security, support northern growth, and enable us to continue delivering for our local communities." He added, "This country has a unique opportunity to bring together AI leadership, energy infrastructure, and industrial renewal to drive national growth. If constructed in full, this project could become one of the largest data centers in the UK, with the potential to attract billions in inward investment, supporting the north's reindustrialization and strengthening sovereign AI capability. Gardiner described Drax Power Station as one of the few UK sites able to provide large-scale reliable power directly to data center customers by using existing and underutilized generation capacity and welcomed the government's recognition that strategically important data centers need faster access to power and planning.

"The priority now must be turning that ambition into delivery, so projects like this can move at the pace the UK needs to compete for global AI investment," he said. Brookfield Head of AI infrastructure Sikander Rashid called the tie-up with Drax and Qai a major opportunity for the firm's AI infrastructure strategy.

"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," he said, adding that beyond preserving hundreds of jobs, the project would create many direct and indirect jobs around the broader Yorkshire area. Qai Chairman and Managing Director Abdulla Al-Misnad described the project as a major initiative under the Brookfield-Qai joint venture and part of the firm's international AI infrastructure strategy.

"Drawing on the combined expertise of Qai and Brookfield in developing and managing large-scale critical infrastructure, and with Radiant and Drax delivering the project, we are helping to establish the infrastructure required to support the long-term growth of the UK's AI ecosystem," he said.

Radiant CEO Mahdi Yahya said the company was proud to expand its UK AI compute footprint with Drax, calling it a unique opportunity for the UK's AI ecosystem to build at scale. "By designing, building and operating from the UK, it will give British researchers, startups and enterprises access to frontier compute at home," he said. "Drax has powered Britain for more than fifty years. Together we can power its AI economy for the next fifty."