Brookfield and Drax plan a huge AI data center in North Yorkshire, a sign of where the power-hungry AI buildout is heading as Europe hunts for space and energy.
Brookfield, a major asset manager, wants to build a giant AI data center on the grounds of the Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire, England. The total bill could top £20 billion ($26.8 billion). Shares of Drax, the energy company, rose 8.2% in early London trading on Tuesday after the plan was announced.
Drax signed an agreement with Brookfield and Radiant, Brookfield's "neocloud" platform, to develop the site together. The first phase aims for up to 100 megawatts of capacity from the first quarter of 2028. A megawatt is a measure of electric power.
Brookfield's £20 billion estimate includes the cost of semiconductors, the chips that run AI.
Europe is racing to build the infrastructure AI needs while energy and land costs are high. A power station estate offers both space and a link to electricity. The source does not say who will use the computing power, how the project will be paid for, or what approvals remain. It is a breaking story, so details may change.
AI is pushing companies to build next to power sources, and this $26.8 billion plan shows how big those projects can get.
Major environmental groups now use AI to study climate data and track fires, while warning that the data centers behind AI carry their own environmental cost.
Read more: Environmental groups use AI to fight climate change, despite its energy costReports say the Trump administration is weighing underwater datacenters off Maine and Alaska, and Lake Erie groups want a plan before anyone proposes one nearby.
Read more: Underwater datacenters may be next, and Lake Erie groups are worriedVoters in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, banned large data centers after a $900 million plan. Here is how a town of 6,600 did it, and what other places can learn.
Read more: Small Ohio town votes to ban a $900 million AI data center
