Drax plans AI data centre at Yorkshire biomass site

Drax has announced plans to build a data centre at its biomass power plant in North Yorkshire, which burns wood pellets, straw and sunflower pellets. The company says the facility could exceed one gigawatt of capacity, with the first phase delivering up to 100 megawatts by 2028 and a second phase adding 500 megawatts by 2031. Drax puts the potential investment, including semiconductor chips, above £20 billion, with £2.5 billion initially for the first phase. Partner Radiant, an AI infrastructure business, would use surplus energy capacity at the plant to power the site. Drax shares rose 8.5 per cent to 877p on Tuesday morning, the largest gain on the FTSE 250.