Energy company Drax has partnered with investment group Brookfield and its UK-based artificial intelligence infrastructure business, Radiant, to develop one of the largest data centre campuses in Britain.
The partnership is aiming to deliver more than 1GW of data centre capacity, with Brookfield estimating that the total investment could exceed £20bn if the entire project is completed.
The first phase is expected to attract an initial investment of £2.5bn and deliver up to 100MW of data centre capacity by the first quarter of 2028.
Under the proposed development programme, capacity would increase to 500MW between 2028 and 2031, with further expansion planned beyond 2031.
The project will utilise Drax’s existing 1,000-acre power station estate, which already has a 4GW grid connection, 2.6GW of operational electricity generation capacity and established cooling infrastructure.
These existing facilities could help address some of the major challenges facing large-scale data centre developments in the UK, particularly securing grid connections and ensuring access to reliable electricity supplies.
Radiant will oversee the design, construction and operation of the AI computing infrastructure, supported by investment from the Brookfield-Qai joint venture.
The formal planning process is expected to get underway in the coming months.
However, the first phase remains dependent on planning permission, regulatory and network approvals, as well as securing a tenant.
Drax Group chief executive Will Gardiner 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 head of AI infrastructure Sikander Rashid 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.”