Drax Data Centre Plan: Brookfield Sees £20bn+, Up to 100 MW From 2028

Drax Group, Brookfield and Radiant announced on Nov. 3, 2026 a partnership to develop a gigawatt-scale data centre at Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire. Brookfield estimates that total potential investment, including semiconductor chips, could exceed £20 billion, according to Drax's stock-exchange announcement. It is an estimate, not committed funding.

Drax said in its release that the Brookfield-Qai AI infrastructure joint venture will back the project, and that the figure includes an initial £2.5 billion for a first phase of up to 100 MW. Reuters put the £20 billion at $26.8 billion and reported that the site could host more than 1 GW of data centre capacity. Radiant here is Brookfield's UK-headquartered AI infrastructure platform, not the microreactor developer of the same name.

Phase 1 targets a data centre of up to 100 MW of compute capacity, operational from the first quarter of 2028, importing power directly from the grid. The companies set an ambition to develop options for 500 MW of data centre capacity between 2028 and 2031, and a third phase after 2031 with no size given. Drax's announcement calls the 500 MW "additional" in its headline but not in its text, so it is not clear whether that figure includes the first phase.

Drax said the first phase depends on planning consent, regulatory and network approvals from the government and the system operator, negotiation of commercial agreements and a final investment decision by each party. Radiant is seeking anchor customer commitments before construction starts. No tenant has been named.

Drax Site: 4 GW Grid Access and 2.6 GW Generation

The power station estate covers over 1,000 acres and has about 4 GW of grid access, with 2.6 GW of active dispatchable generation, according to Drax. That generation is four 645 MW biomass-fired units burning compressed wood pellets, according to Drax's station page. Reuters reported that Drax will provide the land, power and grid access, Radiant the AI infrastructure expertise, and Brookfield the capital through its joint venture with Qatar's Qai, announced in 2025.

For power buyers, the point is time to power. Drax CEO Will Gardiner said the station is one of the few UK sites able to supply large-scale reliable power directly to data centre customers using existing and underutilised generation capacity. Drax's announcement says Phase 2 is expected to use existing generation behind the meter, with round-the-clock power under a long-term power purchase agreement, subject to consents, and that Phase 3 would use the same approach. It does not say how many megawatts of the 2.6 GW would serve the data centres, the agreement's price or its counterparty.

Voltgrid News reported earlier on National Grid's Teesside data centre substation site.

Why Drax Phases Differ: Grid Versus Behind-the-Meter

Phase 1 and the later phases connect to power in different ways. Drax says the first phase, up to 100 MW of compute capacity, would import power directly from the grid through the station's c.4 GW of grid access. Phases 2 and 3 are expected to be behind the meter: existing generation at the station would supply the data centre directly, around the clock, under a long-term power purchase agreement, subject to consents.

Drax says its government Contract for Difference runs from April 2027 to March 2031 and includes a mechanism to request that up to 500 MW be used to power a data centre, if the UK Government and the Low Carbon Contracts Company agree. So the 500 MW ambition depends on that agreement as well as on planning, while Phase 1 depends on network approvals and a tenant.

Data Centre Covenant and Drax Share Reaction

The partners said they welcome the government's new Data Centre Covenant, which aims to speed up access to power and planning for strategically important data centres. Their initial assessment is that the plans align with the Covenant's criteria. Drax expects public consultation to begin in November 2026, and a Phase 1 planning application is being prepared.

Drax shares rose about 9% in early trading on Nov. 3, according to Reuters. It quoted JPMorgan analysts as saying the announcement could raise the market value attributed to Drax's data-centre plans and expectations that the station could keep operating beyond the end of its subsidy scheme in March 2031.

What Is Not Confirmed About the Drax Plan

The £20 billion is Brookfield's estimate of what total investment could reach, not committed funding. No tenant, power purchase agreement terms or construction cost has been disclosed. Drax's stock-exchange announcement headlines a data centre of more than 1 GW and says the three phases together could deliver gigawatt-scale capability, but it sizes only the first two phases. The first phase also needs network approvals before work can start.