Brookfield, through its Radiant platform, has signed an agreement with Drax Group to develop a massive artificial intelligence data centre at the Drax Power Station estate in North Yorkshire. Total investment could exceed £20 billion ($26.8 billion), with an initial 100 MW phase targeting commercial customers from early 2028, subject to government approvals and securing a tenant.
The agreement was announced on Tuesday, and Drax shares were up 8.8% in early morning trading. Radiant CEO Mahdi Yahya called the project a unique opportunity for the UK's AI ecosystem to build at scale and said it would give British researchers, startups and enterprises access to frontier compute at home.
Beyond the first phase, an additional 500 MW of capacity is planned to come online between 2028 and 2031, with a longer-term goal of more than 1 GW at the site. Brookfield's total investment estimate, including the cost of semiconductors, could exceed £20 billion, with an initial £2.5 billion investment in phase 1.
The first phase will use power from the grid and target commercial customers from early 2028. It is subject to planning, regulatory and network approvals from the UK government and relevant agencies, and the project still needs a tenant. Drax said final investment decisions have not yet been made.
The UK has struggled with high energy costs and long waiting times for businesses to connect to the grid. In October, it was reported that Microsoft had pulled out of a deal to anchor an Nscale data centre just outside London, amid delays connecting to the country's power grid. An Nscale spokesperson said at the time it remained committed to the project and was exploring alternative power sources for the site.
Europe has been slower than the United States in developing data centres to support artificial intelligence. The Nordics benefit from abundant power and available land, and countries in the region, such as Finland, have seen major commitments to develop AI data centres. In September, Google announced it would invest at least 13 billion euros ($15.1 billion) into AI infrastructure in Finland, its largest single investment in Europe.
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12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 10 supported.
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- SupportedHeadline: Brookfield is targeting a $27bn AI data centre at Drax Power Station.Tech: “Brookfield targets $27 billion AI data center at power station.”
- SupportedThe project aims to secure more than 1 GW of capacity at the site.Tech: “It is then looking to secure more than 1 gigawatt of capacity at the site by an unspecified date.”
- Partly supportedThe first phase is presented as 100 MW, targeted for commercial customers from early 2028.Tech: “The project is initially targeting up to 100 megawatts of capacity to be operational from the first quarter of 2028”
- SupportedBrookfield, through Radiant, signed an agreement with Drax Group to develop an AI data centre at the Drax Power Station estate in North Yorkshire.Tech: “Energy company Drax Group said Tuesday it has signed an agreement with Brookfield and the asset manager's neocloud platform Radiant to jointly develop an AI data center on the Drax Power Station estate in North Yorkshire.”
- SupportedThe total investment, including semiconductors, could exceed £20 billion ($26.8 billion).Tech: “Brookfield estimates total investment, including semiconductors, could exceed £20 billion ($26.8 billion),”
- SupportedRadiant CEO Mahdi Yahya described the project as a unique opportunity for the UK's AI ecosystem and said it would give British researchers, startups and enterprises access to frontier compute at home.Tech: “"This is a unique opportunity for the UK's AI ecosystem to build at scale," Radiant CEO Mahdi Yahya said in a statement. "By designing, building and operating from the UK, it will give British researchers, startups and enterprises access to frontier compute at home."”
- Reports differDrax shares were up 8.8% in early morning trading.
- SupportedAn additional 500 MW of capacity is planned to come online between 2028 and 2031.Tech: “with an additional 500 MW of capacity to be brought online between 2028 and 2031.”
- SupportedThe initial phase involves an investment of £2.5 billion.Tech: “with an initial £2.5 billion investment in phase 1.”
- SupportedThe first phase will use grid power and is subject to planning, regulatory and network approvals, as well as securing a tenant.Tech: “The first phase of Brookfield's project in North Yorkshire will use power from the grid and target commercial customers from early 2028. The initial phase is subject to planning, regulatory and network approvals from the government and relevant agencies, alongside securing a tenant for the project, Drax said in a statement said.”
- SupportedDrax said final investment decisions have not yet been made.Tech: “The company added that final investment decisions are yet to be made.”
- SupportedIn October, it was reported that Microsoft had pulled out of a deal to anchor an Nscale data centre just outside London amid power-grid connection delays.Tech: “In October, it was reported that Microsoft had pulled out of a deal to anchor an Nscale data center just outside London, amid delays connecting to the country's power grid.”
