{
  "id": 17979751,
  "title": "Drax wants to feed Britain's AI habit with £20B datacenter at biomass power station",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/drax-wants-to-feed-britains-ai-habit-with-20b-datacenter-at-biomass-17979751",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-11-03T13:27:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Register",
    "slug": "the-register",
    "url": "https://www.theregister.com/on-prem/2026/11/03/drax-wants-to-feed-britains-ai-habit-with-20b-datacenter-at-biomass-power-station/5307237"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Drax Power Station, home to Britain's largest biomass power plant, is planning a £20 billion AI datacenter development. The project, a collaboration between Drax, investment giant Brookfield, and Radiant, aims to consume over a gigawatt of power. The first phase, by early 2028, will deliver up to 100MW, with a second phase adding 500MW between 2028 and 2031. However, numerous hurdles remain, including planning permission, regulatory approvals, commercial agreements, and finding a tenant. Despite these challenges, Drax believes its existing infrastructure gives it an advantage, and the UK government has expressed enthusiasm for the investment.",
  "summary": "But first it needs planning permission, government approval and, rather importantly, a customer",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}