Drax datacentre could create nearly twice the yearly emissions of all Gatwick flights

Drax's planned datacentre in North Yorkshire could produce nearly double the emissions of all flights out of Gatwick Airport each year, according to an analysis by a campaign group. The datacentre would require burning 4.9 million tonnes of wood annually, leading to an estimated 8.6 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

Last year, Drax announced plans to convert part of its biomass power plant into a datacentre to meet the growing demand for AI capabilities. Datacentres consume vast amounts of electricity to power servers, cooling systems, and facility operations. Currently, there are 315 datacentres waiting to connect to the UK’s electricity grid, representing a demand of 73GW, nearly double the peak winter energy demand for the entire UK.

In public documents, Drax indicated it is developing options for a 1.2GW datacentre, with 100MW sourced from the electricity grid and the remainder from its own power station. The Drax power station currently burns millions of tonnes of imported wood to generate energy, which is marketed as a clean energy source that could potentially lead to negative emissions as replacement forests absorb CO2.

However, this approach is heavily contested by scientists and environmental experts, who argue that achieving carbon negativity could take up to 150 years.