Drax, Brookfield and Radiant unveil plan for up to 1GW AI data centre at North Yorkshire power station

Drax Group, Brookfield and its UK-based AI platform Radiant have announced a joint venture to develop up to one gigawatt of artificial-intelligence data-centre capacity on the Drax Power Station estate in Selby, North Yorkshire. The first phase, targeting 100 MW, is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2028, with additional capacity planned through 2031 and beyond.

• Phase 1: 100 MW of AI-focused compute power, slated for Q1 2028.
• Phase 2: Additional capacity added between 2028 and 2031.
• Long-term goal: Exceed 1 GW of capacity, with total investment projected over £20 billion.

Joint-venture structure and investment outlook

The project will be delivered through a joint venture named Brookfield-Qai AI. Brookfield estimates that total spending on the development could exceed £20 billion (approximately $26.8 billion), including an initial £2.5 billion ($3.4 billion) earmarked for the first phase. The investment figure encompasses not only data-centre construction but also related semiconductor and AI-infrastructure spend, according to Brookfield’s statements.

Phased rollout and regulatory dependencies

Phase 1 will rely on grid power and is contingent on securing planning permission, network approvals and a commercial tenant, Drax said in a statement. Phase 2 aims to raise capacity between 2028 and 2031, after which the partners envision further expansion to surpass the 1 GW mark, though no specific timeline was provided. Final investment decisions remain subject to regulatory clearance and tenant commitment.

Strategic significance for the UK AI ecosystem

Both Drax and Radiant frame the development as a catalyst for Britain’s sovereign AI capability. Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner highlighted the site’s ability to deliver “large-scale reliable power directly to data-center customers” by leveraging existing generation capacity. Radiant CEO Mahdi Yahya added that building and operating the facility in the UK would give British researchers, startups and enterprises access to frontier compute without relying on overseas providers.

Local impact and community considerations

The Selby site spans roughly 1,000 acres and already hosts 2.6 GW of dispatchable generation from Drax’s wood-pellet plant. The partners pledged a voluntary community-benefits fund to support local initiatives, separate from statutory planning obligations. Drax also noted that the project could preserve hundreds of existing jobs while creating additional direct and indirect employment across Yorkshire.

Broader European context

Europe has lagged behind the United States in deploying AI-scale data centres, largely due to high energy costs and grid-connection bottlenecks. The UK, in particular, has seen recent setbacks such as Microsoft’s withdrawal from an Nscale data-centre project near London over grid-delay concerns. By contrast, Nordic countries benefit from abundant renewable power and have attracted sizable AI-infrastructure commitments, including Google’s €13 billion investment in Finland.

Should the Drax-Brookfield-Radiant venture succeed, it would represent one of the largest AI-focused data-centre projects in the UK, potentially attracting billions in inward investment and reinforcing the country’s re-industrialisation agenda.