Sites / Drax data centre
Drax data centre
Drax · proposed · North Yorkshire Council
First phase of under 100 MW on land at Drax Power Station; this is the size Drax describes for its application. Drax has also spoken of growing beyond 1 GW after 2031; that ambition is not an application and is not counted in our figures. The “carbon-negative data centre” claim rests on unproven bioenergy with carbon capture and storage. Environmental impact assessment screening: the council ruled no full assessment required.
Stated size
100 MW
first stage only Operator
Source: Drax AI data centres page: application for a data centre of <100MW (upper bound used)
Power size for the first stage of construction only. They may seek more later. Stated size is not electricity use.
Site area
Unknown
active industrial
What was here: Land at Drax Power Station used for storage / coal-era infrastructure
Water
Not disclosed
No annual water figure in materials reviewed
Equivalences
No operator on this map discloses expected load factor (the share of peak power used on average), so yearly electricity figures are shown as a range, not as a known total.
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33,333 kettles running at once
ⓘ Arithmetic and sources
33,333 kettles running at once (at first stage only; power size, not annual use)
- Nameplate 100 MW treated as continuous power for a power-to-power comparison only.
- One kettle = 3 kW.
Figure type: first stage only · stated
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129,778-227,111 homes' annual electricity
ⓘ Arithmetic and sources
129,778-227,111 homes' annual electricity (at 40%-70% load factor)
- Uses first stage only = 100 MW.
- Assumed average load = nameplate × 40%-70%.
- Home use = 2700 kilowatt-hours/year.
- No operator discloses load factor; this is a bound, not a measurement.
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Local geography (load-factor range): 87% of Middlesbrough to Middlesbrough + 1 further authority (to North East Lincolnshire)
ⓘ Arithmetic and sources
At 40%-70% load factor: between 87% of Middlesbrough and Middlesbrough + 1 further authority (to North East Lincolnshire) (annual electricity)
350-613 gigawatt-hours per year assumed
- Uses first stage only = 100 MW.
- Energy = MW × 8760 h × load factor / 1000 → GWh/year.
- Compared to Department for Energy Security and Net Zero local-authority total metered electricity (all sectors).
- No operator discloses load factor; this is a bound, not a measurement.
- Water: Water use: not disclosed
Grid connection
Operator states phase 1 would use an existing grid connection previously used to support coal-powered generation. Operator
- New substation: not stated
- Overhead line upgrades: not stated
Claims on record
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“Opportunity to build the world’s first carbon-negative data centre by combining with BECCS”
Drax · status: no public data
Disclosure checklist
- Stated size (MW): disclosed
- Water: not disclosed
- Power usage effectiveness (PUE): not disclosed
- Energy source claim: none on record
- Load factor: not disclosed
Plain checklist, no aggregate score.
Right of reply
Right of reply: open; no response received. Email marco@prismaticlabs.ai. Subject is prefilled. Or see methodology.
Timeline
- 2025-12-11: Drax tells investors it is preparing / has applied for planning for a ~100 MW data centre targeting operation by 2027
- 2026-01: North Yorkshire Council rules environmental impact assessment not required (screening)
Controversies / contested procedure
North Yorkshire Council screening opinion: no environmental impact assessment required for the data-centre proposal
Campaign open letter (reported May 2026) opposing the proposal (campaign source)
Source: Campaign reporting (link via dossier sources when archived) · campaign source
Sources
- Drax — AI data centres page
- Guardian — Drax datacentre plans
- Northern Echo: environmental impact assessment screening report
No live planning application link recorded yet. We do not upgrade a site past “proposed” without one.
Map point: longitude -0.995, latitude 53.736. Last reviewed 2026-07-15.