Drax, owner of Britain’s largest power station, announced on Tuesday 3 November a partnership with Canada’s Brookfield and its platform Radiant. Together they plan to build an AI data centre of more than 1 gigawatt next to Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire. Brookfield estimates the total investment could exceed £20bn.
What was announced
According to Drax, the project has three phases. The first – up to 100MW, with an initial budget of £2.5bn – is due to start operating in the first quarter of 2028. Capacity is meant to grow to 500MW between 2028 and 2031, and further after 2031. Reuters reported that Brookfield’s capital comes in part through its joint venture with Qatar’s Qai.
Drax brings the land (about 1,000 acres), 4GW of grid access, 2.6GW of generation and cooling systems. Drax chief executive Will Gardiner says the station is one of the few UK sites that can supply large-scale reliable power directly to data centre customers.
Nothing is decided yet
Phase one depends on planning permission, regulatory and network approvals from the government and the system operator, and finding a tenant. Drax aims to start the planning process in the coming months, and a community consultation will open shortly. The partners also plan a voluntary community benefits fund.
The project has critics. Reuters notes that experts have raised concerns about high emissions if the data centre runs on biomass power. According to Reuters, the first phase will use grid power.
What it means for Polish businesses and workers in the UK
Thesis: data centres are becoming one of Britain’s biggest construction and engineering markets, and the Drax project could bring work to smaller subcontractors in the north of England.
Evidence: phase one alone is worth £2.5bn, and the programme runs at least to 2031. The announcement speaks of protecting “hundreds” of jobs at the station and of new jobs across Yorkshire, though it gives no number.
Many Polish firms in the UK work in construction, electrical, mechanical installation and transport. Projects like this are usually led by large main contractors who hire subcontractors. Firms hoping to take part should have their paperwork ready: insurance, staff qualifications and health and safety procedures. But work will have to wait – construction depends on planning consent.
Risk: for now this is an announcement. Without approvals or a tenant, the timetable could slip. The planning application and tenders will be the binding steps.
Residents around Selby, including Poles, will be able to comment in the community consultation Drax says will open in the coming weeks.
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