Drax proposed a £20B datacenter at its North Yorkshire biomass plant. The first phase would deliver 100MW by early 2028 with £2.5B in funding. Later phases could reach over 1GW by 2031. The site already has 4GW grid access and cooling infrastructure. Drax aims to supply up to 500MW directly from its biomass generation. This requires government approval to redirect capacity under an existing contract. The project still needs planning permission and a tenant. Public consultation will begin this month. Drax says it could protect hundreds of jobs. The UK government welcomed the investment as supporting reindustrialization.
What changed
No datacenter existed at Drax Power Station before this proposal.
What it unlocks
Building a datacenter co-located with a biomass power plant to supply up to 500MW directly.
- £20B proposed investment
- 1GW+ power capacity target
- 100MW first phase by early 2028
- £2.5B first-phase funding
What you need to act on it
- planning permission
- regulatory and network approvals
- commercial agreements
- final investment decisions
- a signed tenant
Sources