The site would be built out in stages. Phase 1 targets up to 100MW of capacity and is due to be operational from Q1 2028, while Phase 2 sets an ambition of ramping up to 500MW between 2028 and 2031. A third phase, also described as an ambition, would add further capacity after 2031. Drax’s filing puts the combined target at more than 1GW, with the first phase drawing power directly from the grid through existing infrastructure that Drax will manage. Later phases are expected to run on the plant’s own generation behind the meter, supplying round-the-clock power to the data center under a long-term power purchase agreement, subject to consents.
None of it is guaranteed yet. The first phase still needs planning consent, regulatory and network approvals from the government and the system operator, and a suitable tenant. Drax’s filing adds commercial agreements and a final investment decision by each party to that list, and says Radiant will seek anchor customer commitments before construction begins. Radiant is to lead on design, customer engagement and commercialization, and Drax on land, power integration and planning.
The partners are pitching the deal as a match of AI infrastructure know-how with the land and power needed to roll out capacity quickly enough for the UK’s AI demand. The estate covers 1,000 acres with 4GW of grid access and 2.6GW of active dispatchable generation and cooling systems, and it sits close to the UK fiber network, which the companies say allows faster and more certain data center development. Under a Contract for Difference signed with the UK government in November 2025, Drax is to supply about 6TWh of biomass power a year from April 2027 to March 2031, roughly 30% of the baseload output of its 2.6GW, and it may ask to divert up to 500MW of capacity to a data center in that period, subject to agreement with the government and the Low Carbon Contracts Company.
Drax calls the power station central to UK energy security, saying it has powered millions of homes and businesses for more than 50 years and employed generations of local workers. The companies said the project fits the government’s goals on AI sovereignty and reindustrialization, opens a new chapter for the site in meeting national electricity demand and supporting the Yorkshire and UK economies, and could help give the plant a long-term future.
Will Gardiner, CEO of Drax Group, said: “This country has a unique opportunity to bring together AI leadership, energy infrastructure and industrial renewal to drive national growth. If constructed in full, this project could become one of the largest data centres in the UK, attracting billions in inward investment, supporting the North’s reindustrialisation and strengthening sovereign AI capability. Drax Power Station is one of the few UK sites that can provide large-scale reliable power directly to data centre customers by utilising existing and underutilised generation capacity.”
In the UK government’s view, countries that can host and power data centers will be in a stronger position to guard their sovereignty, build economic resilience, take a share of digital-economy gains and influence where AI goes next. The partners welcomed its new Data Centre Covenant, a route to quicker power connections and planning decisions for strategically important projects. Their initial assessment is that the Drax plan meets the Covenant’s criteria on energy security, local community benefits, environmental standards, reindustrialization and secure access to infrastructure.
Sikander Rashid, Head of AI infrastructure at Brookfield, said: “Teaming up with Drax and Qai for this project represents a major opportunity for our AI infrastructure strategy. Our capital and deep operating capabilities will help accelerate the construction of a critical piece of sovereign AI, delivered by Radiant, our UK-headquartered compute infrastructure platform. In addition to preserving hundreds of jobs, this project will also create many direct and indirect jobs around the broader Yorkshire area.”
Radiant presents itself as a vertically integrated AI infrastructure business that pairs powered land at utility scale with long-term capital and its own software, and runs AI factories whose customers include hyperscalers, telecom operators, large companies and sovereign bodies. Mahdi Yahya, CEO of Radiant, said: “We are proud to expand our UK AI compute footprint with Drax. This is a unique opportunity for the UK’s AI ecosystem to build at scale. By designing, building and operating from the UK, it will give British researchers, startups and enterprises access to frontier compute at home. Drax has powered Britain for more than fifty years. Together we can power its AI economy for the next fifty.”
Abdulla Al-Misnad, Chairman and Managing Director of Qai, added: “This project is a major initiative under the Brookfield-Qai joint venture and forms part of our international AI infrastructure strategy. Drawing on the combined expertise of Qai and Brookfield in developing and managing large-scale critical infrastructure, and with Radiant and Drax delivering the project, we are helping to establish the infrastructure required to support the long-term growth of the UK’s AI ecosystem.”
Brookfield and Qai set up their $20 billion joint venture in December 2025 to invest in AI infrastructure in Qatar and select international markets, with Brookfield’s share coming from its Brookfield Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Fund. The firms said then that the tie-up would anchor a wider Brookfield AI infrastructure push targeting as much as $100 billion of investment worldwide. Qai, a QIA subsidiary headquartered in Qatar, develops AI infrastructure and its own platforms and operates under the Doha Investment platform.
Chris McDonald MP, Minister for Science, Innovation & Investment, said: “This investment from Qatar and Brookfield is a strong vote of confidence in the UK and a sign of the strength of our growing partnership with Qatar, which is driving technological advance and growth in both our countries. We are determined to make the UK the best place in the world to invest in digital infrastructure, attracting global capital to support growth, innovation and the industries of the future.”
Brookfield’s ties with Gulf investors reach beyond AI. On November 3, Alya, a residential development platform backed by Brookfield and Abu Dhabi’s Lunate, opened its regional headquarters in Dubai International Financial Centre.
The Drax project could give Qatari sovereign capital a sizable stake in British AI computing capacity. Its pace may depend less on money than on planning and network approvals, and on whether Radiant can sign a tenant before construction starts. The later phases also lean on the CfD mechanism, so any request to redirect up to 500MW of the plant’s capacity to the data center would still need official sign-off.
The partners also plan a voluntary community benefits fund, shaped with communities around the site and kept separate from any planning obligations and Drax’s existing local programs. A planning application for Phase 1 is being prepared, and a public consultation is expected to begin in November 2026, while Drax aims to start the formal planning process in the coming months.
