● Covered by 2 sources · 3 reportsMedium impact1 negative2 neutral
Brookfield and Drax Plan £20 Billion AI Data Center at UK Power Station
Key points
- Brookfield and Drax Group to build AI data center in North Yorkshire.
- Initial capacity of 100 MW by Q1 2028, expanding to over 1 GW.
- Total investment estimated over £20 billion, with £2.5 billion for phase 1.
- Project aims to address Europe's AI infrastructure needs.
- Drax partnered with Radiant to build the AI data center.
- Drax will provide land and grid access, and eventually direct power.
- Drax hopes to begin powering the data center directly by the early 2030s.
- The project secures the site's future amid government plans to limit Drax's power generation.
- Drax CEO Will Gardiner stated the project will protect hundreds of jobs.
- DataVita's Lanarkshire AI data center will be fully powered by the National Grid.
- DataVita's project is located in Chapelhall, outside Airdrie.
- DataVita received £202 million in wealth guarantees from Britain's national wealth fund.
New AI Data Center in North Yorkshire
Brookfield and Drax Group have signed an agreement to jointly develop a large-scale artificial intelligence data center at the Drax Power Station estate in North Yorkshire, UK. This initiative aims to establish significant AI infrastructure in Europe, where development has been slower compared to the U.S.
Capacity and Investment Details
The project's initial phase targets up to 100 megawatts (MW) of operational capacity by the first quarter of 2028. Plans include an additional 500 MW between 2028 and 2031, with a long-term goal of securing over 1 gigawatt (GW) of capacity at the site. Brookfield estimates the total investment, including semiconductors, could exceed £20 billion ($26.8 billion), with an initial £2.5 billion allocated for Phase 1.
Addressing UK's AI Infrastructure Needs
The data center is intended to provide British researchers, startups, and enterprises with access to compute resources within the UK. This development comes as the UK has faced challenges with high energy costs and grid connection delays, which have impacted previous data center projects, such as Microsoft's reported withdrawal from an Nscale data center deal near London.
Approvals and Future Steps
The first phase of the project is contingent on obtaining necessary planning, regulatory, and network approvals from government bodies and relevant agencies. Securing a tenant for the project is also a prerequisite, and final investment decisions are yet to be made by Drax.
Updates
- DataVita's Lanarkshire AI data center will be fully powered by the National Grid.
- DataVita's project is located in Chapelhall, outside Airdrie.
- DataVita received £202 million in wealth guarantees from Britain's national wealth fund.
- Drax partnered with Radiant to build the AI data center.
- Drax will provide land and grid access, and eventually direct power.
- Drax hopes to begin powering the data center directly by the early 2030s.
- The project secures the site's future amid government plans to limit Drax's power generation.
- Drax CEO Will Gardiner stated the project will protect hundreds of jobs.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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How outlets covered it
DataVita has confirmed its planned 1GW AI datacenter in Lanarkshire will be fully powered by the National Grid, retracting earlier claims of dedicated renewable energy sources. This shift raises concerns for DataVita and the UK's AI strategy, which relies on such large-scale developments, especially given high energy costs and grid connection delays in Britain.
Drax, owner of the UK's largest power plant, partnered with Brookfield and Radiant to build an AI datacenter with over 1 gigawatt capacity on its North Yorkshire site. The project, valued at £20 billion, aims for initial operations by early 2028, with Drax providing land and grid access, and eventually direct power. This development secures the site's future amid government plans to limit Drax's power generation.
Brookfield and Drax Group are jointly developing an AI data center at the Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire, UK, with an estimated total investment exceeding £20 billion. The project aims to provide up to 100 MW of capacity by early 2028, expanding to over 1 GW, to support the UK's AI infrastructure development.